If you see a lot of police cars and firetrucks at Bayfield High School on Monday morning, don’t panic.
It’s a drill.
Still, the event is important to help area first responders and the school district plan for something they hope to never have to deal with: an active shooter at the high school.
“It will be pretty busy and hectic,” Bayfield Marshal Joe McIntyre said, with activity around the high school slated to start at 7 a.m. The exercise officially starts at 9 a.m. when the practice call will go out that an active shooter is on the site. The training will finish at 3 p.m.
“You just don’t know,” when or where a shooting incident might take place, and no community is immune to them, McIntyre said.
School is not in session that day in Bayfield so staff can undergo training at the event. The Marshal’s Office and eight other area agencies will practice evacuating “students” from the school. (Actually, they’ll be staff members.) The victims will be transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center so emergency room staff can focus on how to conduct triage following a shooting. Also, the school district will simulate a reunification process at Bayfield Church of Christ. This allows school district staff to practice dealing with hysterical parents and upset children, McIntyre said.
There was a similar exercise two years ago at Sunnyside Elementary School, McIntyre said.
He asked drivers on County Road 501 past the high school to be careful in the heavy traffic from the exercise. Also, East Sossaman Road will be closed from CR 501 past the high school. The walking paths around the school also will be closed.
