Redwood City Police, Fire Hosting 'Large Scale' Active Shooter Exercise at Local School

The following is a news release from the city of Redwood City: 

The Redwood City Police and Fire Departments announced this weekend that they will conduct a large-scale joint tactical exercise as a component of their Enhanced School Safety Plan— a comprehensive multi-phased preparedness plan for schools that embodies the Departments’ commitment to developing and testing the most effective practices associated with reducing and responding to campus violence.

The large-scale joint tactical exercise will simulate an “active shooter” on campus. It will take place at Roosevelt School at 2323 Vera Street on Sunday, June 8th, 2014, between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM. 

In response to the many unfortunate national incidents of campus violence, the Redwood City Police Department began devising a new strategy to better safeguard our city’s school campuses. The regrettable events that have garnered national attention act as a reminder of the importance and priority that such preparedness planning deserves. 

The purpose of this exercise is to improve our public safety departments’ response to critical incidents occurring at school sites throughout the City. As part of an improved response protocol, the Redwood City Fire Department will now join with the Police Department to ensure that the insertion of medical resources occurs earlier, thereby vastly increasing the likelihood of survival for those affected in such an incident. 

“This exercise will challenge our officers and firefighters to strive for synchronized approaches to mass-casualty incidents,” states JR Gamez, Chief of the Redwood City Police Department. “This exercise will not only help us better prepare for responses to violent incidents, but also to any mass-casualty events requiring effective collaboration between Police and Fire Department resources.” 

“The joint preparation and coordination of the Police and Fire Departments to mitigate these very taxing incidents ensures that we are doing our best to safeguard the community and ensure the safety of our first responders”, states Fire Chief Jim Skinner. 

To minimize impacts to local traffic, the Departments chose June 8th – a Sunday -- However, the exercise will unavoidably result in the closure of some streets in the area to ensure participant safety and to minimize any disruptions to training activities. 

Specific affected neighborhoods will be contacted by police personnel prior to the exercise to ensure road closure information is provided. The Redwood City Police and Fire Departments would like to thank you for your patience in advance.