Lewis County will host a regional crisis response training session this week focused on keeping local schools safe during emergencies ranging from natural disasters to hostile intruders.
The I Love U Guys Foundation will set up shop at Richie Bros. Auctioneers on Friday for a day-long “Train-the-Trainer” session.
The event welcomes educators, school administrators and first responders from all disciplines and from all over Western Washington.
According to Lewis County Emergency Management Director Erika Katt, I Love U Guys will train attendees to follow its Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Standard Reunification Method (SUM).
The two techniques provide guidelines for educators and first responders in, first, how to immediately respond to a crisis and, secondly, how to reunite children and students with their families when it is safe to do so.
SRP focuses on five steps to take in response to a crisis, starting with holding in place and ensuring the safety and security of students before taking the next steps, eventually leading to evacuation and sheltering in a safer location.
Katt said she and others have worked hard to bring the training to the local area and look forward to the training to make sure that, if and when an incident occurs, schools and first responders are “connected, coordinated and ready to respond as a unified team.”
“Trainings like this are critical, not just for building a shared, coordinated response during an active threat, but for strengthening relationships ahead of time,” Katt said.
