Armed intruder drill to be held here next week

On Tuesday, Southern Regional Technical College will conduct a scheduled armed intruder drill at its Cairo location.
The drill will define procedures that school officials are to implement in the case of an armed intruder entering the campus. This will be a comprehensive emergency management simulation orchestrated in conjunction with Air Methods, Archbold Medical Center, Cairo Police Department, Cairo Fire Department, Grady County Emergency Management Agency, Decatur/Grady 911, Grady County Sheriff’s Office and Grady County EMS.
This drill is expected to give Southern Regional and all associated emergency response personnel an opportunity to identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments.
“While it is certainly our hope that we never endure a situation like this firsthand, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to experience such a simulation annually in order to practice procedures and steps that could keep them from being harmed if such an emergency occurs in their lives in the future. In light of incidents that have occurred at schools, businesses and even military installations over the past few years, it is incumbent for our college to have this drill. I believe our institution will be better prepared to handle this type of event having experienced a simulation of this magnitude,” commented SRTC President Dr. Craig Wentworth.
Though mass casualty and armed intruder incidents are not occurring any more frequently than they have in the past, casualties per incident have increased in recent years. Historically, these events create victims in the first few seconds before police have time to respond. The objective of this simulation drill is to train students, faculty and staff in initial actions they can take to make a difference and potentially save lives in the crucial moments before emergency services personnel arrive.
“We understand it is prudent to conduct appropriate training for these types of incidences, however unlikely they may be. Therefore, we have coordinated with a comprehensive group of local law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel to create a drill that will prepare us to react properly in the event an armed intruder appeared on one of our campuses. The ultimate goal is for this drill to provide feedback we can use to improve and ensure the safety of everyone on all of our SRTC instructional sites,” said Steve Peacock, SRTC facilities director and campus safety and security coordinator.
After the simulation is complete and the “all clear” has been given, college administration will have a debriefing session with all law enforcement agencies involved.