The Fayette County Board of Developmental Disabilities held its August In-Service training on Monday, Aug. 17 at Fayette Progressive Industries.
There were two valuable trainings offered on this day for all employees. Gary Heaton, Security and Emergency Response Coordinator at Southern State Community College, was the first presenter training the staff on the ALICE program. This program was authored by a police officer to keep his wife, an elementary school principal, safe after the tragic events at Columbine.
Since these humble beginnings, ALICE continues to be the leading active shooter response program in the U.S. The purpose of ALICE (Alert, Lock-Down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training is to prepare individuals to handle the threat of an active shooter. ALICE teaches individuals to participate in their own survival, while leading others to safety. Though no one can guarantee success in this type of situation, this new set of skills will greatly increase the odds of survival should anyone face this form of disaster.
The afternoon program was led by Lt. Tim Downing from the Washington C.H. Fire Department. Proper emergency evacuations for vacating the buildings in the event of an emergency was explained in detail. Once again, Lt. Downing emphasized the proper procedures in the occurrence of an active shooter along with tornado, fire and other natural disasters. Several different emergencies were practiced with unplanned obstacles present to confirm that all employees were properly trained.
The Fayette County Board of DD would like to thank Gary Heaton and Lt. Downing for the time spent in preparing and presenting these two very important and valuable trainings. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing is the wrong thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
