Temple Fire Hosts Multi-Agency Emergency Training

Over forty Central Texas fire department, law enforcement, and EMS responders were in Temple this week for special training to help them save lives when faced with active threats, including active shooter situations.

Temple Fire and Rescue hosted the Active Threat Integrated Response Course, with instructors from Louisiana State University and the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training lending their expertise and knowledge. The three-day course featured practical exercises during which police, firefighters, and EMS learned to better communicate, coordinate, and cooperate during a crisis.

The courses were designed to ensure that our emergency responders have the mental tools they'll need to deal with threats, treat wounds, and protect the public, all the while staying calm and helping victims do the same.

"We would like the community to understand Temple Fire and Police Departments are dedicated to continually training and growing to provide the highest level of excellence in service to our community," Temple Fire and Rescue Training Chief Jonathan Christian said Thursday.

There's been a great deal of discussion in the wake of recent active shooter incidents about how people should react and protect themselves in those nightmare situations. That's an important conversation for us to continue having as a society, but it's good to know that our trained emergency responders are active in learning how to best serve the public should the worst happen here.