Thurston County to train first responders for active shooter incident management

Thurston County will soon train local authorities on how to manage active shooter incidents and active mobile threat events.

The Thurston Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved on Tuesday, May 24, a contract with C3 Pathways, Inc., a Florida-based training firm for the “Active Shooter Incident Management Basic Train-the-Trainer” course for Thurston County Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and Homeland Security partners.

The Thurston County Fire Chiefs Association, Thurston County Law Enforcement Agencies, and the Thurston County Mass Casualty Incident Committee agreed that there is a need for further training to enhance unified command efforts on the scene during mass casualty incidents, as reported by Thurston’s Emergency Services.

Thurston’s Emergency Services Interim Assistant Director Ben Miller said C3 Pathways, Inc. would train 70 law enforcement providers and 45 fire and emergency services personnel to “enhance interoperability during a mass casualty event caused by an active shooter scenario or an active threat.”

Ten candidates from the law enforcement professionals will be certified as trainers at the end of the course.

The contract amounting to $17,991, will includeC3’s two-day basic “train-the-trainer” Active Shooter Incident Management course.

According to a May 24 FBI report, active shooter incidents across the United States in 2021 recorded the highest number of deaths since 2017. The FBI also reported an increase of 52.5% active shooter incidents in 2021 compared to 2020.