Daily Archives: August 15, 2014

Deputies and School Bus Drivers Participate in Armed Intruder Response Exercise

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Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Coconino County Sheriff Photo

BLUE RIDGE – On Saturday, August 9, 2014 Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies, Chevelon Butte Elementary School District personnel and school bus drivers, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers, Blue Ridge Fire District personnel, and Coconino County Sheriff’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members participated in a training scenario that simulated an armed intruder (also known as Active Shooter training) on a school bus with student passengers.

The goal of the exercise was to instill in school bus drivers and involved law enforcement officers the knowledge, skills, abilities, and mindset necessary to successfully respond to an active threat event. The training was designed to focus on the roles, responsibilities and interagency coordination of responding officers and school bus drivers. Active Shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to the victims. Because active shooter situations often last 10 to 15 minutes, school staff members must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation while law enforcement responds to the scene.

SDexercise-02

Coconino County Sheriff Photo

Linda Blosser who is the President of the Governing Board for the Chevelon Butte Elementary School District requested that the training be provided to district school bus drivers and was instrumental in the planning, organization and implementation of the exercise.

Following the training Blosser said, ‘Our training event was a great success. As a small rural school district it gave us a chance to identify areas we needed to review and follow up with additional in house training. Chevelon Butte Elementary School District is being proactive, making sure our employees have received the training they need if an emergency were to happen on one of our school buses full of students. Safety is our #1 priority; our goal is to make sure every student and bus driver go home at the end of the day. The cooperation we received from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has been great. They shared their time and expertise with us, and may I say it was an eye opener. When I asked, ‘what do we do if an emergency happens on one of our buses?’ a small army of several law enforcement agencies being led by the CCSO drove out and ‘role played’ with us for a day.”

Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies called to investigate lightning strike.

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FOREST LAKES – On Saturday, August 9, 2014 at about 4:00 pm a Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Forest Lakes Community and the Forest Lakes Fire Department were dispatched to the area of Spillway Campground at Woods Canyon Lake for a report of an adult male who was struck by lightning.

Once the emergency first responders arrived, they found a 41 year old man of Queen Creek, AZ had been struck by a bolt of lightning on his upper torso in the area of his right shoulder. On scene observation revealed the lightning exited the victim’s body through his big toes.

Medical personnel immediately began life saving efforts on the victim who appeared to be seriously injured. Due to the inclement weather, including heavy rain and hail, responders determined that air evacuation of the victim was not a safe option.

He was taken to the Payson Regional Hospital by ground ambulance and was subsequently transported to the Maricopa Burn Center. The investigation has revealed the victim, his wife and two children were at Woods Canyon Lake for a day of fishing when a large storm front moved over the Woods Canyon Lake area.

According to witnesses the victim lifted a metal framed camp chair over his head for cover at which time a bolt of lightning struck him and a tree located in close proximity to the victim’s location. The last report received by the Sheriff’s Office listed the victim good condition.

You should be aware of the dangers that may come with monsoons. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the US Forest Service want visitors to enjoy their time on the forests and encourage visitors planning a trip to the area to “Know Before You Go”

Lightning: What You Need to Know

  • NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area
  • If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you
  • When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up
  • Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder

Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips

If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:

  • Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
  • Never lie flat on the ground
  • Never shelter under an isolated tree
  • Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
  • Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
  • Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

Forecast weather conditions can be found at the National Weather Service webpage.