Preparing for the unthinkable: Local first responders drill at Soquel High for mass-casualty incident

Law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel gathered at Soquel High School this week for Santa Cruz County’s annual active-shooter response training, a large-scale exercise designed to prepare first responders for mass-casualty incidents.

Hosted by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, the five-day training brings together approximately 150 law enforcement and more than 80 fire personnel from agencies across the county. The exercise simulates an active shooter on a school campus, requiring officers to locate and stop a threat while rescue teams enter the scene to triage and evacuate victims.

“This is training that you can’t just get in a classroom,” said Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Ashley Keehn. “The things that you see, the things that you hear, our volunteers do an amazing job at making this realistic, so it really helps our first responders put themselves in that situation and train like it’s the real thing.”

Now in its sixth year under the sheriff’s office, the training uses volunteer role players and simulated casualties to create realistic conditions. Organizers rotate participating personnel throughout the week while conducting similar scenarios each day.

Keehn said the exercises also help familiarize responders with school campuses throughout the county and strengthen coordination among law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies.

“It’s something that we know we need to be prepared for,” Keehn said. “We had a scare at Santa Cruz High School a few years ago. Thankfully, that ended up not being the case, but it drove home how important it is to be prepared for something like this in our community.”

The training continues through the week at Soquel High School.

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