Active Shooter Scenario At Hospital Drill

Preparation comes in many different forms for police and other emergency personnel and on Wednesday that meant running through an active shooter scenario at the Marlborough Hospital.

"In the event we ever had to resp to a school shooter being able to get in there and train in there is very helpful," said Police Chief Mark Leonard of doing preparedness drills in area schools, hospitals and office buildings. “Departments have really been focusing on these (trainings) since the most well known incident which is the columbine incident."

Marlborough police, a S.W.A.T. unit with the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, emergency medical services, the fire department, hospital staff and other emergency personnel participated. The importance of this training has increased since Columbine in 1999 as the entire mentality has changed from a tactic of surrounding and containing to tackling the situation with whatever resources first responders have, he said.

“The case really since Columbine is you get in there as quickly as possible with the resources you have," said Leonard. "The more exposure we can get to that type of training the better.”

The training not only allows for tactics to be played out, but to train in locations where responders may have to handle an emergency sitation. The ability to have these trainings on site allows them to truly understand the buildings, said Leonard.

“Every building is unique," said Leonard who explained even walk throughs of a builkding without the tactical experience is different. "You can look at a plan of a building ... but it’s a much more beneficial experience to be able to get in there and see the layout of the buildings."

Marlborough Hospital officials said they were pleased to be able to participate in the preparedness drill.

“What recent events have shown us is that you can never practice enough," said Candra Szymanski, Interim President and CEO at Marlborough Hospital. “And when it comes to keeping employees and patients safe, we believe in practicing and preparing for every possible situation."