BATH

A police cruiser and two fire trucks crowded the entrance of the Morse High School building on Monday morning.

With the addition of the glaring yellow caution tape wrapped around the grassy entrance of the school, a sight like this would normally cause alarm. But from the camaraderie exchanged between the officers lingering outside, it was still clear that there was nothing to fear.

With gun violence a growing national concern, the Bath Police Department and the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department worked together to take preventative measures to train for active shooter situations.

The two-day training session took place on Monday and Tuesday.

According to Lt. Robert Savary of the Bath Police Department, this particular training session was unique because other authorities, such as the Bath fire department, EMS staff, Sagadahoc sheriff and communication center were also involved.

While Bath police officers have already trained for active shooter situations, Savary said it was important to work together with other agencies to respond to scenarios of shooters and injured students.

“It’s essential because it can happen anywhere at anytime,” Savary said, recalling a brief open fire fight that took place in Bath after an armed robbery in 2006, which ended in Brunswick.

Several scenarios were staged for Monday’s session, which included having authorities arrive on scene at different times, accounting for multiple shooters and getting EMS and firefighters in the building safely to help wounded victims.

And despite the comfortable atmosphere among the authority figures, when it was time for action, all handled the situation with gravity.

Armed with airsoft guns, blankets and other safety equipment, officers and EMS workers would be cued to enter or reenter the building, shuffling through the corridors of the school in search of the fake shooter or actors portraying wounded victims.

During the training sessions, student actors and other volunteer victims would walk out of the school with their hands in the air, hold their arm to feign a wound or have a blanket wrapped around their shoulders. EMS staff would also help drag the “wounded” students to the entrance.

Although Savary noted that the scenarios were mostly “cut and dry,” he said it was important to train all the departments together.

“It was very valuable to be able to get three different agencies who are going to be major components to an incident like this together,” he added.

No other training sessions currently are planned after yesterday’s session, however, Savary said they are open to more opportunities in the future. There have already been initial talks with Bath Iron Works security as well, though it may take some time to coordinate with the shipyard.

However, with summer break, Savary said it was a “no brainer” to take advantage of the high school building and familiarize the officers with the “nooks and crannies of the school.”

Durin the training, the scenario session also shed some light on some unforeseen obstacles, which included the school’s security measures, as the door they were entering could only be unlocked by a fob.

“This is a secure location so we have key fobs, but in an emergency situation we have to remember to grab them and go,” he said. “The things you take for granted, you have to think ahead.”

Savary also had some pithy words of advice for students or others caught in active shooter situations: Flee, hide and fight.

“If you can’t get out, hide. If you can’t get out or hide, fight. Find something to fight with,” he said.

Savary suggested using fire extinguishers, pens, papers, scissors — anything as a defense mechanism.

“Don’t be a passive victim,” he emphasized.

dkim@timesrecord.com