Active shooter drill held at Huntington Hospital

Law enforcement and fire department personnel from multiple agencies conducted an active shooter response drill at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena on Friday.
The drill included personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Tactic’s and Survival Training Unit, Pasadena Police Department, Pasadena Fire Department and Huntington Memorial Hospital staff and simulated what would happen in the event that a gunman went on a rampage in the area.
“This training will simulate a shooting at the hospital where police and fire personnel will respond and take simulated action,” officials said in a release preceding the event. “The training scenarios will incorporate simulated gunfire and explosions, along with simulated injuries, involving role players, nurses, doctors and hospital administrators from Huntington Memorial Hospital.”
Nicole Nishida, public information officer for the sheriff’s department, said what is learned from this event can save lives.
“We’re doing this to prepare civilian staff and Huntington Memorial staff with protocols and goals in the event that an active shooter does occur here,” Nishida said. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does happen they’re going to be prepared.”
Nishida said the drill being acted out is very elaborate.
“There are about 150 personnel here,” she said. “There are two scenarios. Each scenario is going to have three different shooters. And they’re going to go into one of the buildings here at Huntington Memorial. There are going to be victims. There are going to be role players.”
She also said the agencies are going to act like they would if this really were to occur.
“The Pasadena Police Department is going to respond to the threat,” Nishida said. “Pasadena fire and hospital staff are going to triage victims and ultimately provide them with medical care.”
In addition, Nishida said the drill will help hospital staff as they do not deal with this on a daily basis.
“It provides them with experience in a big, mass critical incident to have multiple victims and to put their protocols into place, as well,” she said.
She added while the department performed a drill like this one a few weeks ago in Temple City near Temple City High School, having these drills in becoming quite common.
“The sheriff’s department does this quite often,” Nishida said. “They almost do this monthly, an active shooter drill at a school or college or hospital. We train internally, as well. We always want to be prepared.”
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)

-Courtesy Photo

-Story by Shel Segal

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