Eight Lackawanna County 911 dispatchers traveled to Goshen, N.Y., this week for a free one-day workshop on dealing with active shooters.
Participants learned about skill-building techniques, technology used by first-responders during active assailant situations and about the community and personal after-effects.
Jerry Beilman, Brian Bauer, Kevin Duffy, Wesley Jones, Matthew Petrie, Charles Saxe, John Wildman and Melissa Wolfe attended the event presented by the Orange County Department of EMS.
Ms. Wolfe, a six-year dispatcher, said the seminar helped equip dispatchers to more efficiently get information from a panicked caller, and relay that information as quickly as possible to the proper authorities.
"You have to keep your cool and get as much information as possible and relay that information to law enforcement," she said. "We're that first point of contact, and we're the liaison."
Through viewing and analyzing footage from incidents like the Columbine High School shooting, Mr. Beilman said they learned how best to get the most information about the situation from callers and how to keep those callers safe until help arrives.
For example, dispatchers instruct callers to avoid the assailant, deny suspects access by hiding and prepare to defend themselves, he said.
"What we're trying to do during the whole situation is to help the victims," Mr. Beilman said.
In light of recent mass shootings in public areas, Ms. Wolfe said training like this is essential to keep first responders up to date. "We're always training and adapting to what society is giving us," she said.
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