NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE AT THIS TIME – PUBLIC RELEASE FORTHCOMING

Media Partners,

The Redmond Police Department, in cooperation with the Redmond School District, Redmond Fire & Rescue, and several other groups, is conducting a mass casualty drill at Obsidian Middle School, 1335 SW Obsidian Ave, Redmond, OR, on Friday, November 30, 2018.  Training will be beginning at 0800 and complete by 1700 hours.  There are two planned training scenarios, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The purpose of the training is to rehearse the unimaginable, so we and all associated stakeholders can be better prepared in the event an actual mass casualty incident occurs at a school, or another location.  During the training, a large first responder presence will be visible to passersby.  The Redmond School District will also be practicing “reunification,” which is a necessary part of any incident similar to this.  In March 2017, Redmond Police and Redmond School District had a successful evacuation of Obsidian Middle School and reunification at MA Lynch Elementary as part of a domestic violence incident occurring across the street from the middle school. 

Students and staff from the Redmond School District will be assisting by role-playing, and Redmond Fire & Rescue, with St Charles Health Systems, will be rehearsing transporting a large number of injured people.  Additionally, school buses will be used to transport the non-injured to the reunification center.

As part of the training, we want to invite our media partners to a faux “press conference.”  The “press conference” will take place at 12:00 PM at Obsidian Middle School, and will relay details of the training scenario as if it had actually occurred.  We will have RPD, RSD, and RF&R media representatives on the scene.  In addition to the faux “press conference,” we will be allowing the media to take pictures and videos of the training in the afternoon session.

It is the vision of the Redmond Police Department to make Redmond the safest community in Oregon.  By preparing for an event which we hope never happens, we can better respond if this type of incident does occur, whether it be at a school, hospital, airport, or another location.