goir | Dreamstime.com
The Shelby County Office of Preparedness (SCOP) is offering two free active-shooter awareness and prevention trainings on Saturday, Aug. 18th.
Each session will be a 90-minute lecture in which attendees will learn how to react quickly and safely during an active shooting with the “run, hide, fight” strategy.
Dale Lane, director of SCOP said the training will provide a survival plan to stay alive during active shootings, which “can happen without warning and evolve quickly.”
“In an emergency, whether a disaster or an active shooter event, you are the first boots on the ground before emergency services have a chance to respond,” Lane said. “We offer free training to give you the knowledge, confidence, and skills to stay alive and to assist those around you until the professional first responders arrive on the scene.”
The training will be at the SCOP office on Mullins Station, beginning at 9 a.m. and then again at 1 p.m.
Additionally, the SCOP is recruiting for its Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a group of citizens trained to handle potential hazards and threats in Shelby County. To become a member of CERT, one must attend two consecutive Saturday training sessions to learn basic, life-saving disaster preparedness skills.
The classes cover how to assemble a disaster kit, as well as skills for fire suppression, team organization, light search and rescue, medical triage, and first aid. There will also be information about terrorism, hazardous materials, and disaster psychology.
Once completing the two sesion, team members will be certified for two years. The classes will be on Sept. 22nd and 29th from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the SCOP offices.
Registration for CERT and the active shooter training is online or can be done by calling 901-222-6706.
