Multiple agencies participate in South Lake Tahoe active shooter drill

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An active shooting training at South Tahoe High School last week gave local, state and federal agencies the opportunity to use their collaborative skills in responding to an emergency at the school.

In the simulated event after school, a call went over the radios on a secure channel to alert all first responders of a shooting at the high school and with the shooter still on the loose. At the first call, there were seven "victims" (volunteers acting for the training).

"This is a drill," said the voice transmitting over the school's loudspeaker. Instructions followed for staff and students to remain quiet, lock doors, teachers to do an accountability report, and for all phones to be turned off.

Police cars arrived with officers utilizing training weapons, followed by EMS teams to "treat" the victims. The fire department, ambulances, and helicopter all arrived at the "scene." Care Flight landed on the baseball field a few times in the drill.

The alert soon came over the radios that one shooter was "down" but unknown if there were others involved and still on campus. A sweep of the school determined the lone assailant was no longer a threat.

In the simulation, guarded by an armed officer, EMS took out the wounded where they were to be transported to Barton Hospital, a Trauma 3 center. The wounded were tagged with colored ribbon....Red for critical, black for deceased and other colors for varying degrees of injuries. For those requiring Trauma 1 services, the helicopter would have transported to Renown Medical Center in Reno. Even in a real event, patients would be tagged by paramedics and medics for accurate handling once away from the emergency scene.

Doctors, surgeons, nurses, and staff were waiting at Barton Hospital for the wounded as part of the drill.

"Thank goodness we've never had to do this," said Sgt. Shannon Laney of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD). "We want to be prepared if it ever does happen. We are making sure all systems are working, and if not, training is the best time to fix."

The exercise allows all agencies and emergency responders to be "on the same page."

A few days after the training all involved school officials and first responders met to go over the drill. For some, it had been the first time on the campus so they learned about buildings and access points.

During their October 22 board meeting, Lake Tahoe Unified Board of Trustees will hear from South Tahoe High Vice-Principal and District Safety Coordinator Justin Zunino and local FBI Agent Glenn Norling will go over the drill. The exercise was held in accordance with national guidelines and best practices for emergency response.

Each separate agency conducts training such as this on a regular basis, but for all of them to work together at one event.

"South Lake Tahoe is an isolated community, teamwork is necessary," said Barton CEO and President Dr. Clint Purvance. He said staff quickly responded to the 20 patients in the scenario, with many being called into the hospital to help with the emergency response. Purvance said it was a privilege to watch this team in action.

"This drill better prepares the community," said Dr. Purvance. "A real situation depletes resources quickly."

Besides the hospital, police department and school district, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Cal Tahoe JPA, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation participated in the training drill. Multiple volunteers had make-up applied to play victims in the exercise.