Volunteers describe participating in local mass-violence training with EMS and police

Community volunteers described taking part in a mass-violence response training exercise alongside emergency medical services and police, saying the drills give responders hands-on experience and help community members understand what to do in a crisis.

Linda Prince, a teacher at South Effingham High School in Springfield, Georgia, said she joined the training in part because she has children in the schools. “The reason that I've joined in to work with the trim the trauma actors here in our mass violence training is partially because I'm a teacher at 1 of the schools, but also I have my own children at the schools,” Prince said. She added she participates to “be on the base level to make sure that everybody knows or at least that I know in the event of a mass violence event here in Effingham, I know that our EMS have been trained.”

Luis, who identified himself only by his first name, described volunteering to assist paramedics and the police during exercises. “I'm here to help out the community by providing my my volunteer, voluntary time to to, help the paramedics and police, department to train themselves in assistance in assisting, our our needs, in case an emergency happens,” he said. Luis said the drills help the public understand daily emergency work and “be in some, in some, you know, case, calm, when we if that if we ever are in the in those circumstances.”

Both speakers emphasized two benefits of the exercises: giving EMS and police practical, hands-on training and helping community members learn what to expect so they can respond calmly and help others if a real incident occurs. The volunteers described the training as a way to strengthen community preparedness and improve relationships between residents and responders.

No formal actions or votes were recorded in the transcript excerpts provided.