Prep for the unthinkable: C.O. agencies conduct mass casualty training drill at Elton Gregory Middle School

(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond Police lieutenant)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Law enforcement and fire agencies from across Central Oregon, in cooperation with the Redmond School District and several other partner organizations, conducted a mass casualty drill Wednesday at Redmond's Elton Gregory Middle School.

Redmond Police Lieutenant Jesse Petersen had advised Monday that roadways in the area would be closed starting at 7 a.m. and open back up by 5 p.m.

This is the first time in five years regional agencies have held this type of training, with a year's worth of preparation going into the day.

Agencies prepare with task force drills, training to stop threats and practicing incident command scenarios.

Petersen explained the importance of practicing for a real-life scenario.

"We're training about five times a year. And that's a full training day, which is eight hours," he said. "When we do a big training exercise like this, where it takes over the entire day, it's every couple of years."

"We want to be best prepared for any kind of major incident, so that we can try to save lives," Petersen added " We know that if we can come in, stop a threat, and then get immediate medical attention, we can save lives. And that's our plan, in order to make us the safest community in Oregon."

Because they don't want to disclose their tactics, police asked us not to take video of the training. The scenario was a school shooting involving 21 "shooting victims," who played the role of those injured or deceased.

Oregon State Police troopers, Deschutes County sheriff's deputies, and Sunriver Police were part of the training. A mock press conference took place later in the exercise, to help agencies with media training.

In November of 2018, Redmond Police and the Redmond School District conducted a similar training event at Obsidian Middle School. 

Students and staff from the Redmond School District assisted by role-playing, and Central Oregon fire agencies rehearsed transporting a large number of injured people. Additionally, school buses were used to transport the non-injured to the reunification center.