Police Chief Michael Noble and Fire Chief Angela Lawless are pleased to announce that the Maynard Police and Fire Departments and Maynard Dispatch completed ASHER Training on Tuesday.
Training was conducted at Maynard High School and was held to reinforce important teamwork and communication skills among the departments during a high-risk response.
Maynard Police, Fire and Dispatch ran through several different scenarios throughout the day, to practice intercommunication skills and be ready for unexpected instances such as an active shooter.
Participants of the drill wore ballistic safety gear, including helmets and vests. Maynard Police also were equipped with simulation guns which held simulation ammunition.
Maynard Police was tasked with finding the mock threat by safely clearing rooms, communicating, and establishing a warm zone once the threat was neutralized.
Once there was no longer a threat and a warm zone was established, Maynard Fire could be escorted in safely by officers and tend to victims. Mock victims were comprised of mannequins that had injury cards on them for both police and fire to evaluate and determine what the next course of action would be.
Maynard Police and Fire also coordinated with dispatchers to practice radioing and communication.
Dispatch practiced relaying messaging to officers and firefighters, including internal information such as where parents would be reunited with their children, a media staging area, and where a medical helicopter would land if it were needed.
Following each drill, participants were debriefed on the drill’s successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in future drills.
“This exercise allows our departments to collaborate with one another and practice crisis scenarios to the fullest extent, which includes communication between departments,” said Chief Lawless. “While we plan to prevent these situations from ever occurring, it’s also important that we continuously adapt and improve to ensure that our community is safe.”
Training was focused on improving skills and understanding roles and responsibilities during a crisis.
“By continuously training and collaborating with our public safety partners we are actively improving our crisis management and response as a department and as a town,” said Chief Noble. “I want to thank all of our participants for their professionalism and commitment to the safety of our community.”