An active shooter in a public building is a nightmare scenario, one that emergency crews must always be ready for.

To train for such a disaster, first responders used Georgian College’s Orillia campus as a staging ground. Officers stormed the school with guns drawn.

“It just puts you into that situation. It’s so real all of a sudden. My role was to run down the hallway and try and exit the building, I encountered the police who told me to exit immediately,” says student Keith Causton.  

“We will get together with each officer what their roll was in the scenario, how it played out, what can be done better,  what can be improved on,” says OPP Staff Sgt. Shawn Hewlett.

Paramedics practiced dealing with multiple casualties.

“Using new equipment we have around multi-casualty incidents, looking at injuries we expect to see in this situation and be prepared to deal with it,” says Simcoe County paramedic Stephen Trafford.

The exercise also tests the communications of school staff and emergency services.  All Ontario schools are required to complete lockdown drills twice annually.

“We hope to do this again and every time add a little bit more and include more people,” says Georgian College spokesperson Chris Varney.

Police in Orillia are planning another exercise like this that will take place at the Lakehead University campus in the fall.