The University of Toledo will hold a training exercise next week to test the University’s response to a violent actor and mass casualty incident on campus.
The drill is scheduled to begin at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 16, with an active shooter simulation at International House on Main Campus followed by an exercise to test The University of Toledo Medical Center’s response to a rapid influx of injured victims at 2 p.m.
“These types of exercises allow us to see what we’re doing right, where we can improve and where to concentrate future resources and training,” said Rodney Theis, director of public safety and chief of the UToledo Police Department. “It’s training we hope we never need to use, but it’s important we prepare ourselves and members of our campus community for a variety of possible scenarios.”
Participants in the training exercise will include UTPD, the UTMC Emergency Department, Health Science Campus Security, and students and staff from the UToledo Office of Residence Life.
The University regularly performs tabletop drills and full-scale exercises to test the University’s response to a variety of emergency situations. In recent years, UTPD has held active shooter exercises at the Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center on Health Science Campus and the Student Recreation Center on Main Campus.
The upcoming event will test both the UToledo police response and the University’s emergency operations plan, as well as the UTMC emergency room’s ability to manage multiple causalities while in a security lockdown.
The drill also will give residence life staff and student employees an opportunity to put their “run, hide, fight” training into use.
The run, hide, fight principles are recommended by the F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security for individuals confronted with an active shooter scenario to run to safety if they can, hide if escape isn’t possible and, as a last resort, fight back.
“Unfortunately, we have seen these types of violent events occur in all kinds of different settings, from shopping centers and schools to places of worship and businesses,” Theis said. “It’s important to know what to do if you find yourself in a threatening situation.”
In-person de-escalation and run, hide, fight training can be requested through the UToledo Office of Public Safety. The University also offers the run, hide, fight training via the Safety and Health Training Test Bank, accessible through myUT.
The UToledo Police Department will place signs around the exercise area alerting the public of the drill. In the event of a real emergency, the public address and UT Alert systems would be activated to inform the campus community that a dangerous situation is occurring and to stay clear.
To learn what to do in the event of an emergency and for more information on the University’s emergency preparedness plans and procedures, visit emergency.utoledo.edu.
