TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Law enforcement officials and emergency medical workers trained together on high-intensity active shooter drills this week are working to improve response times and save lives at an increasingly common mass casualty event.
Cooperative training, known as hostile event response for active shooters, or Ashe, aims to introduce EMS faster to provide life-saving care along with law enforcement, rather than waiting until the room is cleared.
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“What we know is, when you train your way of working, when the real thing happens, it becomes a second nature,” said Logan Lane, director of public safety at Tallahassee State University.
Lane said the traditional model of EMS waiting for the scene to be secured before entering precious times.
“Past history, Firefighter EMS had to wait for the room to be cleaned up, so imagine how much time the director of the training business at the University of Miami has lost.
This approach has already proven effective. Tallahassee’s First Responses used Ash Training when a gunman fired at Florida State last month.
“Our young officers today are more likely to deal with one of these than they have in the past,” Lane said. “We have to prepare them. It’s constantly evolving. After Florida or Uvalde, we’ll take what we’ve learned and incorporate it.”
In Ybor, the training brought in agencies from all over the area, including the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsboro County Sheriff’s Office. The simulated scenario highlighted rapid and tuned actions in a chaotic environment.
“Unfortunately, these types of cases are far too prevalent in our society,” Lane said.
Officials said the goal was clear. By counting seconds, the seamless coordination between EMS and law enforcement can make the difference between life and death.
