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City of Elk River 2004 Annual Report and efforts toward improving the Elk River Fire Department with the training he has coordinated during the last 15 years. EMERGENCY~ANAGEMENT On August 25, 2004, the city, in conjunction with Elk River Emergency Management, conducted a full scale drill at the Elk River Senior High School. The scenario surrounded an active shooter within the school with response from multiple public safety agencies to assist at the full scale drill. At approximately 9:00 a.m. several shots are heard inside the Elk River High School Commons. Many students are inside the Commons area of the high school and students with late arrivals entering the front door of the school are also involved in the incident. Numerous phone calls received from the school report loud noises and possible shots from somewhere inside the school. Frantic cell phone callers throughout the senior high wanted to know what was happening. Planning and preparation for any type of incident is vital for all of the public safety entities to ensure a coordinated and unified command response to any emergency event. The planning for a full scale drill and the 200 plus responders involved is a team effort between police, fire, EMS, public works, and other city staff. The 2004 full scale drill was the third full scale drill within a six year period in our community. Elk River Emergency Management continues planning and preparedness for any disaster that may affect our community. Our emergency response personnel continue to train in their roles and responsibilities to ensure their knowledge of the city's Emergency Operations Plan. The new Public Safety facility and its state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a vital resource for our community's response in the event of a disaster. Finally, I would like to thank Police Chief Jeff Beahen and Captain Brad Rolfe for their time and efforts in working with me toward the successful planning of our full scale drill. Without the cooperation of the Elk River Police Department, our drill would not have become the successful learning experience for all public safety entities. CERT The Elk River CERT training program was delivered to team members over an 8 week period. Some of the training topics include disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue operations, disaster psychology and team organization, terrorism, and a course review in disaster simulation. After training was completed for all of the Elk River CERT members, they participated in the full scale exercise scheduled April 30, 2004. The deployable CERT teams will provide the Elk River Fire Department, Elk River Ambulance, and Elk River Police Department an additional asset during the times of crisis and emergency in our community. SAFETY PROGRAM As part of my duties and responsibilities I also serve as the city's safety coordinator. The city continues to have a working relationship with Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) and MMUA Safety Consultant Dave Berggren, who assists us with our safety program. Our program has made tremendous strides within all departments. Our department heads work with all their employees to emphasize safety as everyone's responsibility. Monthly safety training continues to focus on numerous topics and at times may involve either all staff or strictly field staff.