Auburndale first responders hold active shooter training at high school
AUBURNDALE, Fla. - Polk County first responders worked together to conduct active school shooter response training on Tuesday.
Auburndale police and fire crews trained at Auburndale High School, participating in a hands-on class in the morning where they practiced simple medical evaluations and procedures, including stopping bleeding.
Later in the afternoon, they participated in active shooter training, which included learning the layout of the school, using simummition rounds and planning evacuations.
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"The training is stressful as it's designed to be during situations like that. It will be a stressful situation, so we try to make it as lifelike as possible so when the time arises, we're prepared," said Ofc. Darren Major with the Auburndale Police Department.
Though, their main focus is building communication between the two departments.
"There's such a large variety of incidents we have to be prepared for and this is just another one," said Auburndale Fire Chief Brian Bradway. "Nothing's more important than our kids and teachers, and we treat that as high of a priority as we would a fire at the department or probably even more, because it's life safety."
Training has changed throughout the years, especially since the mass school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Major said as agencies, they've adapted and evolved and learned from prior mistakes.
"Years prior, the standing operating procedure was to huddle up and figure out what was going on the outside and make a plan and then go in and attack that plan," said Major. "Now, if we discover a threat we act on that threat, neutralize the target and save as many lives as possible."
Training takes place twice a year and with each training they build and improve upon the last.
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