Colleton County Fire-Rescue, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, Walterboro Police, Walterboro Fire Department, C.A.R.E. Flight, HCA-Colleton Hospital, and the University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie participated in an active shooter drill on Friday, April 3. This training is a huge milestone in community preparedness, as it is the first drill held at the campus. Leaders from all agencies started meeting last summer in preparation for the event. The exercise is designed to test all local agency response plans and push them to the limit, while providing all participating agencies with feedback on how to further strengthen their response plans. The drill was held in conjunction with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division’s Full Scale Exercise week. Throughout the week, agencies across the state are given a worst case scenario to test response capabilities and improve community preparedness.
“We are very grateful to Dr. Cone and her staff for hosting this exercise,” Fire-Rescue Chief David Greene stated. “We also appreciate the Walterboro Police Department, Colleton County Sheriff's Office, and our many other partners for their input and participation. These are highly complex incidents that require multiple agencies to work together seamlessly and exercises such as this allow us to identify any improvements that can be made,” Greene added.
"As Sheriff of Colleton County, I am grateful this Easter season for the dedication and teamwork of Colleton County Fire-Rescue, Colleton County Sheriff's Office, Walterboro Police Department, Walterboro Fire Department, C.A.R.E. Flight, HCA-Colleton Hospital, and University of South Carolina Salkehatchie, whose commitment to this critical training strengthens our community and ensures we are prepared when it matters most,” said Sheriff Buddy Hill. Sheriff Hill went on to say, “Exercises like this are essential, allowing agencies to train together under realistic, high-pressure conditions, identify areas for improvement, and build the coordination and confidence needed to respond quickly and effectively in real emergencies, ultimately saving lives.”
“The City of Walterboro Police Department was honored to partner with county agencies and the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie to provide our responders with realistic, system taxing training. We intended to push our response plans to the limit. We did, and we all learned a lot. This type of training is invaluable to strengthen how we plan, prepare, and respond to the worst possible scenario,” said Walterboro’s Chief of Police Wade Marvin.
“The active shooter drill reinforces everyone’s commitment to preparedness and the safety of our campus community,” USC-Salk Dean Dr. April Cone stated. “Our law enforcement and emergency operations partners play a critical role in keeping our campus safe, and we are grateful for their continued support and commitment,” Dr. Cone added.
This exercise was one of seven held in the last two weeks, and Colleton County Fire-Rescue appreciates all of the participating agencies.
