RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - Rutherford County Schools’ leaders received assurance teams of first responders throughout the county would respond to school emergencies to protect lives, property and the environment.
County Public Safety Director Chris Clark made the pledge during safety training for school administrators and first responders Friday at World Outreach Church.
Schools’ Director Jimmy Sullivan thanked the administrators and staff for participating.
Clark introduced to principals, assistant principals and administrators teams of law enforcement officers and school resource officers, firefighters and paramedics who will respond to school emergencies.
“I needed you to have a visual of how many are coming,” Clark said.
Clark presented scenarios of a school bus crash with multiple injuries, high winds destroying a gym wall injuring students and an active shooter armed with firearms and pipe bombs.
Schools’ Safety Director Patty Oeser and Clark led teams of administrators, staff and school resource officers to discuss their roles and share their results with each other. Schools’ Chief Communications Officer James Evans and his staff provided information about communicating with parents.
“We want to give you a little bit of confidence of what to do if this happens,” Clark said.
Clark addressed the threat of an active shooter at a school.
“We’re coming in to stop that threat,” Clark said of the first responders. “We’re coming in.”
He hoped the training would give administrators a sense of situational awareness so they will be better prepared to handle emergency. He urged administrators and staff to be prepared and to watch for unusual circumstances.
“If you see something, say something,” Clark said.
