On Wednesday, July 24, the Palm Coast Fire Department was one of several agencies participating in a full-scale emergency operations exercise at Flagler Palm Coast High School. The event, hosted by Flagler Schools, also included Flagler County Emergency Services, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Flagler County Fire Rescue, Flagler Beach Fire Department, Flagler Beach Police Department, Bunnell Police Department, and AdventHealth.
Over several hours, each agency immersed itself in a mock active assailant scenario. During this exercise, they collaboratively worked to locate and neutralize the threat, while responding accordingly to treat mock victims. Volunteer actors played the roles of victims who had a variety of injuries, and distractors, which allowed for a more realistic environment for first responders as they entered the affected environment. Evaluators from each agency monitored participants’ responses throughout the event.
“Exercises like this are a great way to not only help us in being prepared for circumstances presented in the scenario but also great for helping to sow the seeds of collaboration between agencies that would be vital in handling a scenario like this in a real-life setting,” said Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill. “Any time we can utilize our skills to protect our community better is a win-win, and we are thankful to Flagler Schools for their hospitality and collaboration.”
Palm Coast Fire Department most recently participated in another multi-agency exercise last year at AdventHealth Hospital on Palm Coast Parkway before it officially opened to the public. Despite being a more robust exercise in terms of participating agencies this year, evaluators noted that Wednesday’s training saw enhanced collaboration, shorter response times, and efficiency as highlights of improvement.
