The following is a statement from the town regarding training preparedness for incidents like the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The tragic event that occurred in Uvalde, Texas at the Robb Elementary School, as well as other mass shootings, have left people across the nation with questions regarding their own community’s safety. We’d like to take a moment to outline some of the ways that our public safety teams have trained for such situations.
The Town of Wakefield’s first responders have participated in annual active-shooter training since 2011. One of these trainings took place last fall at Wakefield Memorial High School. Our Police, Fire, School, Public Works, Communications, Emergency Medical Services, and Emergency Management Departments joined partners from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) to conduct a functional active-shooter exercise. The training followed the protocol of the NFPA 3000 Guideline (ASHER) Program. ASHER is the Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response program.
Recently, the Police Department purchased a new command vehicle installed with state-of-the-art mobile radios so they can communicate with all necessary agencies, within and outside the community. The vehicle can also operate as a command post during these types of incidents.
As a result of continuous education and training, inter-department partnerships, and improved technology, it is our opinion that our public safety personnel are well trained to respond to such tragic incidents, though we all hope it’s never needed.
Our thoughts are with the communities who have faced these devastating situations. Should any member of the community wish to discuss this matter, we can be contacted at 781-716-7047 (Thomas Walsh) or 781-246-6331 (Chief Steven Skory).
Emergency Management Director Thomas P. Walsh Jr.,
and Police Chief Steven A. Skory
