UB will hold its annual full-scale “emergency training exercise” in and around Hadley Village on North Campus Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., according to a UB press release.
The university’s emergency management department is teaming up with local, state and federal emergency responders to conduct the active shooter exercise. The drill is designed to ensure coordinated, timely and effective response and recovery in the event of an “active shooter” emergency, according to the press release.
The drill will involve parties from University Police, Environment, Health and Safety, Student Life, University Communications, School of Nursing, School of Public Health and Health Professions and the Behling Simulation Center of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Emergency vehicles and actors with simulated injuries will be visible in the on-campus apartment complex during the drill, according to the press release.
During the drill and the two days prior to it, the university will email and publicly post messages informing the UB community that an exercise is taking place.
Jay Roorbach, senior emergency planning coordinator for UB’s emergency management said an aim of the practice is to increase the ability of UB departments and community agencies to work cooperatively and in close coordination with each other.
“We look at the history of shooting events and several of them have happened in schools. Higher education institutions have really had to rev up security and really collaborate a lot more with community partners besides the traditional emergency medical services,” Roorbach said. “We’re pleased to have various campus organizations as well as local, state and federal first responders participating in the training.”
Roorbach said the drill will simulate a situation where a shooting has occurred on campus, prompting first responders to deal with the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Participants will have to deal with realistic injuries while practicing safety precautions concerning lockdowns and evacuations.
“Obviously the first simulated calls will go to UPD. Safety during the exercise on the scene will be the biggest precaution during the drill. We’re screening everyone to make sure no one has any real weapons," Roorbach said. "To make it seem as real as possible, we want those who have responded to this drill to see something as close to the real injuries and scenarios as possible. We’ve scripted out some other scenarios we want to practice too.”
Roorbach said mannikins from the Jacobs School of Medicine that can simulate the respiration, blood pressure and stress of someone who has been shot will also help teach first responders accurately deal with injured persons.
During the exercise, access to the Cooke A, B and C faculty and staff parking lots on North Campus will be temporarily unavailable. Access to Hadley Road between Rensch Road and Augspurger Road will also be unavailable during the exercise, according to the press release.
The exercise is closed to the campus community and the general public. Roorbach said UB community members can expect the drill to be held at the same or a larger scale every summer.
Max Kalnitz is the senior news editor and can be reached at max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com
