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Preparing for the worst

Bridgeport teachers undergo active shooter training

STAYING READY – Bridgeport teacher and coach Alison Jones fastens a tourniquet on a fellow BISD staff member during the Stop the Bleed course Monday at Bridgeport Elementary. Staff and teachers learned how to give out critical first aid in the event of an active shooter situation. Messenger Photo by Austin Jackson

As first-day-of-school preparations ramped up Monday, Bridgeport elementary teachers and staff took a break from lesson plans and decorating colorful classrooms to learn how to properly fasten a tourniquet.

Welcome to 2019.

“It’s sad that we have to do it, but that’s just the world we live in,” Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Stanford said. “You have to be prepared for the worst.”

Members of the Bridgeport Police Department, Wise County EMS, Wise Health System and area air ambulance teams spent the afternoon showing teachers how to give critical first aid and react in the case of an active shooter or mass casualty event.

BISD staff was given instruction in two national courses: Stop the Bleed and CRASE, which stands for Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events.

“It goes hand in hand with CRASE, covering critical protocols for what to do in the event of a mass casualty or active shooter situation,” Stanford said.

FIRST AID – Bridgeport police officer Nick Crane watches as Bridgeport second-grade teacher Kristy Murphy fastens a tourniquet on a fellow staff member during the Stop the Bleed course Monday at Bridgeport Elementary. Staff and teachers learned how to give out critical first aid in the event of an active shooter situation. Messenger Photo by Austin Jackson

In all, the first responders taught four courses from noon to 3 p.m. Monday at Bridgeport Elementary and Bridgeport Intermediate.

At the elementary school, Wise County EMS supervisor Brandon Daugherty walked more than 60 teachers through how to properly treat wounds and stop the bleeding, showing them a video from the course, then leading hands-on instruction.

“It’s a basic skill to learn,” Daugherty said. “Anybody can do this.”

Teachers and staff fastened tourniquets on themselves and one another. They stuffed gauze in pool noodles that had been punctured to simulate the process of treating an open wound, all the while having members of EMS, Bridgeport PD and air evacuation teams help to ensure they were using the proper techniques.

Daughtery said that blood loss is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in these cases.

Bridgeport officer Nick Crane, who helped with the class, said the reaction from teachers would be crucial in the case of an emergency situation or active shooter event.

“The amount of time it takes to die for an arterial bleed is two minutes,” Crane said. “The average time for police to respond to a scene is three minutes.”

Following the arrest of an armed man in Paradise last week after he was found in the walls of the high school gym, and in addition to recent mass shootings in El Paso and Ohio, Stanford said teachers were attentive and focused.

Stanford said there has been a mentality that a mass casualty event could never happen here – not in Wise County, not at my school.

“It was perfect timing,” Stanford said. “You could tell teachers were more in tune and alert than in years past.”

The training, in addition to recent scares that have hit close to home, have adjusted that belief, Stanford said.

“Providing realistic training, it helps curb that mindset,” Stanford said. “It’s just a matter of when, and we all need to be prepared.”

During the course, video was shown of active shooter situations. Some involving footage from schools, Stanford said, and others from body camera footage from arrests that involved a shooting where an officer rendered first aid to a man who was shot.

Gasps and groans spread across the classroom as they witnessed the situation escalate.

The rapid bleeding from a bullet wound showcased how imperative quick and decisive action would be in the event of a mass casualty event, Daughtery said.

“It happens fast,” he told the classroom of teachers. “It shows how quickly you have to react.”

Stanford said at the intermediate campus, some teachers had to leave the room. While the footage was jarring, he said it was also necessary.

“It’s better to react to it and see it now to get an idea of what it could be like if something bad happened, and they were put in that situation,” Stanford said.

The chief credited local first responders, and in particular, former BPD officer Lee Snodgrass, who’s now the school safety and transportation director, for taking action to make the community and students safer.

Snodgrass worked for BPD for 20 years before retiring and taking the position. He’s been diving into school safety this year, with State Bill 11 mandating schools undergo further training for active shooter and mass casualty events.

The partnership between the director of safety and the police department he worked at for decades made the uptick in mandatory training seamless, Snodgrass said.

Stanford said bringing the course to BISD was a goal heading into this next school year, and he was pleased with the participation and willingness of staff to do what they had to do to be prepared for the worst.

There’s a partnership between the district and its police department.

Bridgeport ISD, in addition to the training, announced a new school resource officer would be on campus this year.

In addition to Mike Gregory, who served as SRO last year, Kaleb Elledge was named as the second SRO, replacing Snodgrass who started working for the school district full time.

Snodgrass said the training and the presence of SROs is making Bridgeport ISD a safer place, something that is at the forefront of everyone’s mind after last week’s scare at Paradise ISD.

“Wise County is a safe place, but what happened in Paradise reinforced that Wise County is not immune to these situations,” Snodgrass said. “If anything happens, we are ensuring that we are prepared.”

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