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8/29/2019 - Cumberland County Full Scale Active Shooter Exercise Integrated Response & Rescue Task Force

The Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholder’s has announced the scheduling of the County’s first full scale “Active Threat/Integrated Response & Rescue Task Force Exercise” on August 23, 2019 at Lakeside Middle School, 2 North Sharp Street, in Millville. There will be two exercises, one at 9:30 a.m. with the second at 3:00, each lasting approximately two hours.

Freeholder Director Joseph Derella, in praising the coordination needed to conduct the exercises, stated, “this is a full scale exercise which requires integrated response from the Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland Police Departments, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crisis Response Unit, The Millville Fire Department, the Vineland Fire Department and EMS as well as the Inspira Health Network’s Emergency Medical Services.” Derella added, “This first ever Countywide Active Shooter Drill exercise will encompass the new concept of “Active Threat Integrated Response” into a realistic simulated scenario of an active shooter.”

The simulation requires Law Enforcement to work collaboratively with members of the EMS and Fire Departments to form a “Rescue Task Force” to respond to the crisis in the “warm zone” of the exercise area to assist with critical care and the evacuation of the simulated victims.

Deputy Freeholder Darlene Barber describes the exercise as “unprecedented” stating, “Conducting such a large scale exercise involving multiple departments and agencies requires tremendous cooperation and a large commitment of resources”. Barber added, “The costs of the exercise is defrayed in part by The BRIT Safety Grant of $10,000 and is to be utilized for unique safety equipment or training.” In addition to the grant, Cumberland County, City of Vineland, City of Millville, and City of Bridgeton have contributed $5,000 each to defray the costs of the Countywide exercise. However, Deputy Director Barber went on to state, “The public safety benefit of giving our highly trained and dedicated first responders the opportunity to perfect their training in an accurate full scale simulation cannot be calculated in dollars.”

 

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