MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) – Inside a classroom, your child is supposed to be safe.
Part of making sure that happens, is giving first responders and teachers opportunities to practice what they would do if something were to go wrong.
7News was at John Marshall High School for a county-wide safety training that gave out tips everyone in attendance hopes they are never in a situation to use.
The new school year is right around the corner, and Marshall County is doing everything they can to ensure all of their schools are safe. Local EMS, law enforcement and school administrators collaborated on Monday afternoon to host a school safety training.
Nearly 200 staff members volunteered their time to complete a large-scale safety training simulating a critical incident, like an active shooter situation.
“We’ve been planning this event in cooperation with Marshall County Office of Emergency Management and Reynolds Memorial Hospital. So, we wanted to do this training event for our staff members before the school year started so that we can evaluate our safety plans, run through a real scenario, practice it and then evaluate it afterwards.”
Shey McGuire | Coordinator of School Safety, Marshall County Schools
Without training, first responders won’t know what techniques work best when responding to a critical incident.
It also helps to show where changes can be made.
Working with first responders in the county made this training all-encompassing for school administrators, law enforcement and EMS personnel.
“So, it helps not only the school system, the individual facilities and the staff to prepare for something like that, but also do it helps the public safety community in regard to recognizing the threat and then also be able to collaborate and work with the school system in the community in getting prepared for the upcoming school year in the event that there would be a large-scale emergency.”
Tom Hart | EMA Director, Marshall County
School administrators want parents to understand that just because a school goes into lockdown, does not automatically mean students or teachers are in immediate danger.
“We lock down for all sorts of reasons. You know, there could be a tanker truck spill. You know, we’re very close to Glen Dale, very close to Moundsville. If they’re chasing someone or if they’re trying to apprehend someone, we will go into an internal lock down just the external doors are locked, but they’re continuing to teach inside. We just don’t want anybody outside because we don’t know what’s going on outside until the threat is cleared or an all clear is given. Then we go back to the regular operations.”
Corporal Shawn Mayle | PRO, John Marshall High School
Cameron High School also hosted a School Safety Training today with nearly 50 participants and 20 first responders.
If an incident does occur at any Marshall County School, law enforcement urges people to stay off of the roadways.
Emergency personnel need to be able to respond to the incident as soon as possible. Parents and guardians will be notified once the situation is under control.
