The Wilkes University Department of Public Safety in partnership with the Wyoming Police Department hosted Active Attack Integrated Response training to community police, fire and medical personnel. The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center provides the training for local first responders. The training was held on June 11 in the Stark Learning Center.
Emergency personnel from Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Plains, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Nanticoke, Plymouth, Pittston and Hanover Twp. are expected to participate. Personnel from the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office and Luzerne County 911 are also expected to attend.
In addition to the emergency personnel, students and faculty in the University’s Passan School of Nursing’s accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing program participated in the training. The nursing students participated by acting as victims in the simulations and gained insights by working closely with EMS participants.
(See the links at the end of this story for media coverage of the training with nursing students’ involvement.)
The trainings are designed to increase the effectiveness, coordination and integration of resources between police, fire and EMS agencies. It provides law enforcement and emergency services officers with important response tactics that can be used to aid victims and increase survival rates. These skills are based on the tactical emergency casualty care guidelines from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.
The two-day, 16-hour course from June 10 to 13 provided training directly to first responders. This training was on the heels of a 40-hour train-the-trainer seminar, held June 3 to 7, that allows attendees to share their knowledge across police departments and in their communities.“This is an integral part of our all-hazards approach to delivering critical emergency services for Wilkes University and the surrounding community.
We’re proud to have ALERRT select Wilkes as a training site,” said Christopher Jagoe, Wilkes director of public safety. “Our officers have and will continue to train in responding to critical incidents such as an active attack. In doing so, we must also prepare our first responders to safely intervene, control bleeding and save lives. We are pleased to collaborate and train with our local police, fire, EMS and telecommunications dispatchers to provide effective and coordinated responses to critical incidents in the surrounding area.”
ALERRT was created in 2002 as a partnership between Texas State University, the San Marcos, Texas Police Department and the Hays County, Texas Sheriff’s Office to address the need for active shooter response training for first responders. Since its inception, ALERRT has been awarded more than $72 million in state and federal grant funding and has trained more than 130,000 law enforcement and fire officials nationwide. In 2013, ALERRT at Texas State was named the National Standard in Active Shooter Response Training by the FBI.
Media coverage of the ALERRT training:
WBRE/PA Homepage: https://www.pahomepage.com/news/local-first-responders-receive-active-shooter-training/2069610121
WNEP: https://wnep.com/2019/06/11/law-enforcement-and-emergency-responders-train-together/
Fox56: https://fox56.com/news/local/active-shooter-simulation-at-wilkes-university
Times Leader: https://www.timesleader.com/news/746958/fake-wounds-real-preparation-active-attack-training-at-wilkes
