CCPD and CCFD are training together for the first time in a large-scale mass-casualty training aimed at improving strategies and coordination during active attacks.<\/p>\n
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 For the first time, the Corpus Christi Police Department and Corpus Christi Fire Department are conducting large-scale joint training to prepare for potential mass-casualty incidents.<\/p>\n
The agencies met Thursday at CCPD\u2019s Training Academy, where officers and firefighters practiced coordinated responses using mock scenarios involving blank gunfire, simulated injuries and loud, chaotic environments. Officials say the goal is to ensure both departments operate seamlessly in a collaborative manner during an active attack.<\/p>\n
Senior Officer Travis Pace with CCPD’s Public Information Office said the department is always working to analyze previous incidents and adjust their training accordingly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe pray to God it never happens. But we\u2019re preparing in case it does,\u201d Pace said.<\/p>\n
Historically, firefighters and medics would wait outside until police fully secured a scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What would happen in the past is that they would have to wait for the scene to be controlled before the fire department came in, and the goal is to stop the shooting, stop the dying, and get the victims to a higher level of care,” Pace said.<\/p>\n
Now, both agencies are using a new approach.<\/p>\n
“What happens now is with this, the officers are the first responders going in and they’ll control an area of the scene to get the shooter down and they bring the fire department in before everything else is completely clear. They’re bringing them into a warm zone,” Pace said.<\/p>\n
He added that officers regularly evaluate procedures and adjust based on national trends.<\/p>\n
“The main stuff, the core fundamentals are still the core fundamentals, but if we tweak them to enhance them then we’ll do that. So it’s not just waiting for a mistake. We’re constantly evaluating. We’re looking for new national trends. We’re looking for anything we can to be more prepared to better protect our public,” Pace said.<\/p>\n
Assistant Fire Chief David Zarate said clear communication and collaboration is critical in a mass-casualty situation.<\/p>\n
“We’re there for triage, treatment, and transport. That’s what we’re really there for,” Zarate said. “But PD has their own thing that they have to do, right? And one of the aspects is to protect us, right? And we really want them to protect us so that we can get into a structure or to an event in a rapid fashion, so that we can do our job.”<\/p>\n
Officer Pace added that about 30 to 40 participants from both agencies are currently taking part in the training. CCPD expects the class to complete the program later this spring, around April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CCPD and CCFD are training together for the first time in a large-scale mass-casualty training aimed at improving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-153247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}