OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — When a crisis like an active shooting happens, first responders need to be ready.
That preparation is the goal of the 5th annual Active Threat Integrated Response Conference in Oshkosh.
We’re in Oshkosh today for the annual Active Threat Integrated Response Conference. The event was planned, but comes one day after the mass shooting at a school in Texas. Officials are discussing best practices for responding to these types of situations @NBC26 pic.twitter.com/tT9bShM2L8
— Kelsey Dickeson (@KelseyDickeson) May 25, 2022
The event comes one day after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas where 19 students and two teachers were killed.
"We always say we're not immune anywhere," said Deputy Sheriff Josalyn Longley, Dane County Sheriff's Office.
Longley presented at the conference Wednesday. The breakout session began with a 21 second moment of silence to honor the lives lost in Texas.
"My heart breaks for all those families, for all those first responders," Longley said. "I just hope they find time to heal."
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The presentation Longley took part in focused on a collaborative training program for civilians and emergency personnel.
"We're seeing building hardening. We're seeing more churches having locked doors once services start," Longley said.
She said Stop the Bleed training is also crucial to saving lives during and after an active threat.
Mental scripting is another life saving tip.
"If I'm here at a restaurant and this happens, I know there's three exits there," Longley said. "Or if I'm here at my classroom, or in my cubicle, and suddenly there's gunfire and I can't get out, I know I can get to a locked door."
Law enforcement, firefighters and emergency management attended the conference Wednesday.
Capt. Chris Tarmann, UW Oshkosh Police Department, said this type of inter-agency collaboration provides a time to coordinate response from within.
"One thing even from probably a dozen years ago that stands out in my head, is you're responding as a police officer to a scene: you park your squad car. You get out and run to a circumstance. You don't really think about where you park your squad car. Well who needs to get through? Fire and EMS. So if we park our squad cars in the road, we slow down the response," Tarmann said.
At times when every second counts, the environment opens discussion on those types of issues so emergency agencies can adjust their response.
"We don't want this to ever happen," said Commander Kevin Warych, Green Bay Police Department. "We must prepare for it as if it's going to happen. We should be trained. We should be prepared. We should be educated and we should make sure that the community is in lockstep with us."
Tarmann and Longley are part of the conference committee. Tarmann said around 350 emergency personnel from across Wisconsin, and some in the Midwest, attended the event, which also included hands on training in medical student safety, how dispatch should respond to active attacks and casualty collection.
