Active shooter response training takes place at Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - Multiple law enforcement agencies and first responders will be gathering at Georgia Southern over the next couple of days for an active shooter response training.

Sixty-five first responders from federal, state, and local agencies are practicing on what they will do during high-risk incidents.

Participants say they are training for what they hope they never have to do.

" What they practice now will help them save lives in the event of real emergency," said Adam Pendley one of the training instructors.

Georgia Southern applied for the grant to receive this training from Homeland Security back in January and was one of the 36 places picked out of the nation.

The participants represent 13 different agencies from federal, state, and local Bulloch County agencies.

Instructor Adam Pendley says that effective communication between all these different agencies on the scene of a shooting is the whole point of this training over the next three days.

" When an active shooter event happens in an area, it is not just a police problem, not a fire problem, or EMS. It is a community problem. Meaning that we have to come together and work together from the initial response all the way through how you recover and help families that have been impacted," said Pendley.

Bulloch County EMA director Corey Kemp says practicing communication out in the field of an emergency situation is a common obstacle for these agencies.

" During some of our past incidents we had an issue with communication. We had issues with just working together because we have never done this. So, this brings us all in a room together where we have eleven different scenarios where we can actually work together and build these bonds," said Kemp.

This includes everything from getting the initial call through dispatch to communicating what is happening to the public.

Kemp tells me that the timing of this training is also crucial.

“Really important to us because school is about to let in so if there is an incident we will be prepared,” said Kemp.

The training will be taking place on the Georgia Southern campus through Thursday.