When officers responded to an armed perpetrator at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont on Tuesday, it was only a drill. This time.
Sgt. Michael Hunter with the Fairmont Police Department says, "By putting some potentially dangerous situations in an environment like this we get an opportunity to test the response of our officers the partnerships we have with Mayo Health Systems and the other agencies in our community here."
Next time, the upset patient could be real, the fake guns replaced with something far deadlier.
It is for that possibility Fairmont–area officers and hospital staff trained this week.
Burns says, "It gives everyone the chance to ask themselves the question what would I do if this was actually happening, then learn from that so they are bettered prepared in the future."
All of the exercises involved a violent perpetrator, who is upset for one reason or another.
Hunter says, "What we look at doing is creating a scenario for our officers that would be similar to what they would be responding to on the street."
Cory Ballard of the Martin County Sheriffs Department says, "It's very important to have realistic situation and have people intensity up for a situation like this, because if they take in a lackadaisical approach they aren't going to think it is reality–based and they aren't going to deal with it appropriately when it does happen."
While today's exercises focused on human caused disasters, those involved say the training can also translate to natural disasters,
Burns says, "Communication is at the heart of all of the effectiveness of our response so the lessons we learn today can be utilized in the event that there is a tornado or and ice storm or a flood or some human or other natural disaster in the future."
Ballard says, "The better the communication the better the outcome at the end, that's just the way it work."
The good guys won this time, and they hope today's training will mean a potential real life situation will have the same ending.
To comply with national accreditation standards; the hospital is required to conducts similar exercises on a regular basis.
