The Southeast Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council (SRAC) recently sponsored two active shooter preparedness trainings for its service area. SRAC is proud to have partnered with the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) at Louisiana State University (LSU) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to hold these events.  

Both trainings were hosted by Chief Mike Winn at COMM Fire Department in Centerville, MA. The first three-day training, the Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response (LASER), took place from November 8th to 10th. The purpose of LASER is to increase officer awareness and preparedness, to improve technical aspects of planning, and to enable more rapid deployment in the event of an active shooter situation. Twenty-seven law enforcement officers from the SRAC region took part in classroom presentations and hands-on performance-based field training, such as gaining entry via the use of breaching tools.  

The second three-day training, the Active Threat Integrated Response Course (ATIRC), took place from November 16th to 18th. Thirty law enforcement officers and firefighters took part in this performance-level training designed to enhance integration between law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services during active shooter events. ATIRC provides law enforcement officers with supplemental medical skills that might not be part of their base training. For example, instructors demonstrated how to deploy emergency casualty care tactics (such as applying tourniquets) that increase victims’ survivability rates. ATIRC also incorporates the rescue task force concept using the Active Shooter Incident Management Checklist.   

Participants reported extremely positive results from these trainings. Chief Winn stated that “ATIRC and LASER are without question the best trainings out there for preparing responders for active shooter or hostile event situations. On the last day of ATIRC, we were fortunate to have both Massachusetts Sen. Walter Timilty, Joint Chair for the Committee on Public Safety, and Rep. Bruce Ayers attend and observe the importance of the training and how valuable it is to the Commonwealth.”