Emergency Exercise Index
2 1/2 years of planning.
122 RCMP personnel, who included emergency response team (ERT) members, negotiators, Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD) members, traffic, monitors, observers, radio technicians, safety & containment teams, Air 4 helicopter, overwatch, and senior officers from Kamloops and Ottawa.
269 total TRU volunteers made up of staff, faculty, and students.
468 total participants and observers with some from as far away as Ottawa.
A call about a suspicious gold coloured SUV and its three occupants approaching the Clock Tower at Thompson Rivers University officially started one of the largest joint operation emergency-response training exercises seen in British Columbia – and a precedent-setter in Canada’s post-secondary sector.
“Campuses and other public institutions have been the site of troubling emergency situations over the past several years,” explained Stacey Jyrkkanen, TRU’s Manager of Safety and Emergency Preparedness. “We hope this never happens at TRU – but preparing for the possibility is part of our overall purpose to support and protect all who come here to learn and teach.”
Stacey Jyrkkanen communicates during the drill by two-way radio and phone.
Marked and unmarked police cars converged at the scene and officers dressed in full tactical gear responded as they learned that shots had been fired in the occupied Alumni Theatre.
As the scenario unfolded, RCMP responders learned the 230 TRU staff, faculty and students in various roles including injured ‘victims’, people in lockdown rooms, hostages and evacuees who had volunteered to participate in the event, required evacuation from the building. Outside, behind the police tape, local media watched as the eerily real mock-emergency unfolded. Eight and a half hours later, the last actor, TRU President Alan Shaver, was safe and the campus was again secure.
It was 2.5 years in the planning and involved a total of 468 participants and observers, some from as far away as Ottawa. It was designed to test TRU’s as well as the various participating agencies’ ability to respond and effectively communicate with each other.
“It’s impressive to see resources available and the level of training our community’s agencies will commit to prepare and respond to an emergency at TRU,” said Shaver. “Through this exercise we know who to depend on and how we can best to support them in assisting us.”
“The full scenario required us to activate our Emergency Operation Centre. It also gave us a chance to learn how we fit into the EOC model with our partner agencies and to test our own response structure to one of the worst scenarios imaginable that a university could face,” said Jyrkkanen. Staff also had to activate TRU Alerts and other emergency notification channels as well as monitor social media.
According to Steve Newton, Regional Manager Emergency Management BC, TRU passed with flying colours. “The response times for a group that was simulating its first emergency response and setting up an EOC were very impressive.”
Newton spent the day as an observer in the TRU EOC and also made note of the clear communications to section chiefs and the efficiency that each area carried out its responsibilities.
A BC Ambulance member runs through a series of questions with one of the volunteer victims.
The coordinated criminal-threat scenario on the Kamloops campus occupied three floors of the Clock Tower and included offices, hallways, meeting rooms and the tiered Alumni-Theatre. The RCMP used special effects including live ‘simunition’, which mimics gunshots, to familiarize responders with the sound. As well, the suspicious package found by the suspect’s vehicle had to be detonated.
“We were looking specifically at our Immediate Action/Rapid Deployment response, Rescue & Recovery effectiveness, and how we structured our command & control, “ said Staff Sergeant Mike Savage, NCO in charge of operations at the Kamloops RCMP Detachment.
“We are very pleased with the overall outcome. This exercise provided an opportunity to test emergency plans, response plans, and work with our community stakeholder partners to enhance our response and community safety.”
In addition to the 269 TRU volunteers who brought this massive initiative to life, approximately 100 RCMP personnel were involved in the planning, observing and policing roles of the exercise.
Dan Sutherland, Kamloops Fire Rescue’s Assistant Chief Support Services and City of Kamloops Emergency Program Coordinator, commended TRU on its commitment to host the exercise and the outstanding effort on the part of its EOC members, its volunteers and the dozens of staff members who assisted with logistics.
Updating the situation in the Emergency Operations Centre.
Along with Kamloops Fire and Rescue, agencies participating included City of Kamloops, Interior Health (with Royal Inland Hospital), BC Ambulance Service, Emergency Management BC. An evaluation by each agency and the observers followed the exercise and has been shared and reviewed during subsequent debriefs. There were some shortcomings identified strictly due to the limitations of a scenario setting.
“Everyone really embraced this exercise and took it seriously,” said Jyrkkanen. “Participants say they appreciated the exercise for the experience they gained in dealing with the stress and quick decision-making that needs to happen in a real scenario.”
Safety & Emergency Management; Risk Management, Advancement, and Marketing & Communications will use the lessons learned to evaluate and improve TRU’s current comprehensive emergency response plan and further inform the crisis communications plans. Jyrkkanen also plans to use video footage from the exercise to develop an educational video for the TRU community which will dovetail into the department’s Active Threat training program.
