HILLSBORO, Oregon — Law enforcement agencies and fire departments continually train on how they would respond to an active shooter situation. In Hillsboro, the police and fire departments have created a unique partnership. The two train together and said, unfortunately, training is something we should all think about too.
They have done active shooter trainings in schools, movie theaters, hospitals and other businesses to make sure they are ready for any scenario.
Over the years, they realized it takes both departments working together to be the most effective.
“We got hung up on, this is a fire problem, we don't need you here, this is a police problem, we don't need you here and we realized that this is all of our problems,” said Hillsboro Fire and Rescue deputy chief of operations Scott Magers.
Police officers are trained to rush in to stop the shooter. Firefighters are trained to rush in to help people who are hurt. Firefighters used to wait for police to get rid of the threat before going in, but that is no longer the case. If something were to happen, they would respond at the same time.
“We've found that what we've tried to do is have fire do what they do best and have us do what we do best, and if we train together, we can create a safety zone for them to work,” explained Hillsboro police training Sgt. Roberto DiGiulio.
In addition to searching for the gunman, officers would be assigned to protect an area for firefighters to treat people who are hurt, so they can get them to the hospital faster.
Hillsboro police and fire active shooter training
“It's a cordoned off area that's armed and we have protection, and then we found that while the officers are looking for the bad guy, then they are bringing patients to us and we take care of that and right back out to the ambulance and off to the hospital,” Magers said.
If you are ever in that situation, think: run, hide, fight.
“It's a sad thing, but you want to do some mental preparation. You want to understand what running from a workplace might look like in the context of your day, what hiding might look like, and then, God forbid, what fighting actually looks like,” DiGiulio said.
Practicing what you would do in an active shooter situation is something officers recommend. Pay attention to your surroundings and know what your options are if you had to run.
“We know in the fire service that people go into the building or go out of the building the same way they go into a building and that's, if something happens, that's where we find them, so look at other options,” Magers explained. “Right now, I can tell you that I would leave this building not the way I came in.”
Officers also said business owners should talk to their employees about how they would communicate in an emergency and quickly get out of the building.
Again, thinking about those things now will help when you are under pressure.