Page 66 - JSOM Winter 2022

the scene, or still operating affects all decisions at unified reflect the official policy or position of the Loudoun County
command. Fire and Rescue or the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
• What areas are considered hot, warm, or cold? For exam-
ple, the front of a big box store may be considered warm References
allowing an escorted approach to access some patients. 1. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Act of violence Exercise at Pat-
The rear of the store could still be considered hot if the rick Henry College. 2020.
shooter is believed in that location. Both the police and fire 2. National Fire Protection Agency. Active shooter/hostile event pre-
commanders must quickly determine the “temperature” of paredness and response. (fact sheet). January 2018. https://www.
nyspffa.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/NFPA3000Fact
parts of the incident scene. SheetActiveShooter.pdf. Accessed 12 May 2022.
• If a joint assembly area is already established, where is 3. Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack Active Violence Working
it? This is the location where RTF Teams and Extraction Group. Active Shooter/Active Violence Response Guide. August
Teams are formed from law enforcement and fire and res- 2020. First Edition.
cue personnel. Since fire personnel will access it without an 4. System Planning Corporation. Mass shootings at Virginia Tech
escort, joint assembly should be located on the edge of the addendum to the report of the Review Panel. November 2009.
https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/prevail/docs/April16ReportRev2009
warm and cold zone. 1204.pdf. Accessed 12 May 2022.
• What is the best strategy (or combination of strategies) to 5. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 1 October After-Action
rescue the injured (LE Rescue, RTF deployment, or pro- Report. August 24, 2018.
tected corridor)? Just like we announce an offensive or 6. National Police Foundation. After-action review of the Orlando
defensive strategy, the strategy to rescue patients from an Fire Department response to the attack at pulse nightclub. Octo ber
active shooter should be announced. There could also be 2018. https://www.orlando.gov/files/sharedassets/public/initiatives
/pulse/ofd-after-action-review-final5b98855d.pdf. Accessed 12 May
combinations of strategies. If the scene is very unsafe, it 2022.
may be best for LCSO officers to drag out patients (LE Res- 7. Board of Supervisors, Loudon County. Finance/government op-
cue). If the area is large and victims will have to be located, erations and economic development committee report: FY2017
deploying RTF teams may make sense. If the building is capital improvement program amendment/fire and rescue/train-
small or is flooded with enough LCSO officers to provide ing command competency lab. 21 July 2016. https://loudoun.
staunch security, a protected corridor may be appropriate. granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=86&clip_id
=4564. Accessed 12 May 2022.
Protected corridor is also the fastest as Fire Rescue units 8. Neal D. An analysis of paramedic clinical rotations: Do paramed-
can move in and out of the area without coordinating indi- ics perform the most critical tasks?” University of Maryland –
vidual patient movements with LCSO. Baltimore County: Master’s Thesis. January 2000.
9. International Fire Service Training Association. Fire and Emer-
gency Services Instructor. 8th ed. Stillwater, OK: Pearson Educa-
Conclusion tion; 2012.
10. Law Enforcement and Fire and Rescue Departments of Northern
Over 52 unified command competency simulations were Virginia. Joint Action Guide for High Threat Environments. First
conducted. Through simulations, law enforcement and fire Edition. (October 2016).
commanders established and effectively operated a unified 11. Policing Institute. After-Action Report Washington Navy Yard,
command post to manage active shooter incidents. “Next to September 16, 201: Internal Review of the Metropolitan Po-
real-life experiences, simulations are the best way to evaluate lice Department, Washington, D.C. 2014 July. https://www.
15
students’ knowledge.” The unified command competency policinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Washington
-Navy-Yard-After-Action-Report.pdf. Accessed 12 May 2022.
training already improved joint operations between law en- 12. Sedensky SJ III. Report of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial
forcement and fire on several incidents. Simulations are the District of Danbury on the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary
closest means to prepare for conducting a critical response, School and 36 Yogananda Street, Newtown, Connecticut on De-
such as an active shooter incident. 8 cember 14, 2012. University of Maryland Libraries. https://drum.
lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/24675. Accessed 12 May 2022.
Author Contributions 13. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Active Shooter Incidents in
The authors of this article all meet the criteria for authorship. the United States: 2000–2018. 2019. https://www.fbi.gov/file-
DJN collected data and drafted the manuscript. PL and TM repository/active-shooter-incidents-2000-2018.pdf. Accessed 12
May 2022.
developed the simulation. All authors contributed to the op- 14. Fire and Rescue Departments of Northern Virginia. Firefight-
eration and ongoing evaluation of the command competency ing and Emergency Operations Manual. Communications Field
simulations. User’s Guide. First Edition. (May 2018).
15. Parvensky CA. Teaching EMS: An educator’s guide to improved
Declaration of Interest EMS instruction. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Publishers; 1995.
The authors are all employed with Loudoun County Fire and
Rescue or the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.The views
expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not

64 | JSOM Volume 22, Edition 4 / Winter 2022