Michael Clark
Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
HAMILTON, Ohio — For the first time, a school security fire and EMS exercise will include participants from every public school district in Butler County.
The active-shooter exercise will take place today on the Ross high school and middle school campus and will also include participants from local police departments, fire agencies and the Butler County Sheriff’s office.
Nearly 200 adults and students will participate.
According to officials at the Butler County Educational Services Center (BCESC), the four-hour exercise will “simulate an active shooter at a board meeting while numerous activities are occurring throughout the campus, including sporting events, conferences, and athletic practices.”
According to Katharine Clayton, director of public school safety for the BCESC, “this will be a complex, coordinated event that will include multiple first responders, community partners, county, and state agencies in addition to the participating school districts.”
Clayton said the purpose of the full scale safety exercise is to provide a hands-on or physical test to evaluate a school district’s emergency operations plan and the district’s emergency preparedness in handling the type of event.
Participating school districts are: Ross, Lakota, Middletown, Hamilton, Monroe, Madison, Talawanda, Edgewood, New Miami, Fairfield and Butler Tech school systems.
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