OGDEN, Utah – Multiple northern Utah agencies came together this week to conduct a full-scale training test for a variety of officials and emergency responders.
Chief Danele Blanc of the Weber State University Police said they were participating in an active shooter exercise.
“We have one individual that walks in and tries to access the server room and is confronted by an employee, who he shoots and then sets off an explosive device in the server room,” Blanc said. “He gets away before we can get here."
Officers moved through the university searching for suspects during the simulated crisis. Deputy Fire Chief Eric Bauman, Ogden City Fire Department, said they also prepare for dealing with injuries.
“It helps us train on our emergency operations plan,” he said. “We set up an instant command structure, triage transportation and treatment groups and coordinate with our local hospitals on receiving patients.”
Blanc said drills like these help ensure that all responders are on the same page in the case of a crisis.
“Our goal in this exercise is to partner with our local agencies and work together so that when we have something like this we are all working together,” Blanc said. “Our protocol and communication efforts are all streaming together, and our primary objective in this exercise is to test our communications and our operability with other agencies.”
The drill involved personnel from Weber State University, Weber State University police, Ogden police, Ogden SWAT, local fire departments and local EMS services.
A full debrief followed the drill so participants could be evaluated on how they handled the various scenarios.
