Local law enforcement role-plays the unimaginable

It didn't matter what Ben Florschutz might have wanted. He wasn't going to get a sucking chest wound.

"No chest wounds tonight!" said Fire Department administrator Dorianne Curley, putting the kibosh on Florschutz's plans.

The wounds in this case were thankfully all simulated, though you wouldn't know it with a casual glance at Wrangell High senior Hannah Armstrong's left arm, which dribbled fake blood from a fake gunshot wound as she cradled it in the auditorium of the Nolan Center Thursday night. Armstrong and Florschutz were two of about ten volunteers from the local high school – as well as reporters for local media outlets, Sentinel included – who joined officials from local law enforcement agencies, the fire department and emergency medical technicians in a simulation of a mass casualty drill at the center. Unlike past mass casualty incidents, which include simulated ferry groundings and aviation disasters, Thursday night's drill centered around a simulated mass shooting event at the movie theater, according to Wrangell Police Officer James Nelson, who helped to coordinate the event.

"We're practicing an active shooter drill tonight," Nelson said. "We're going to simulate a mass casualty scenario."

While police officers undergo mass shooting training on a regular basis, EMTs and Volunteer Fire Departments, who might also find themselves among the first responders in such a calamity sometimes don't, Nelson said. Thursday night's drill aimed to correct that.

Florschutz, Armstrong, and other students from the high school volunteered as victims, replete with putty wounds and fake blood, in exchange for community service hours and pizza.

"Our goal tonight is really to test the EMTs and see how they respond," Curley told the volunteers. "We wanna see if they wait, if they go back. We want you guys to really, really, really play it up."

Only select EMTs from the volunteer fire department were told when and where the drill would be held, officials said. Others were told that a drill planned for Thursday night was re-scheduled.

The EMTs, who were really the primary beneficiaries of the Thursday drill, performed well, said Wrangell Police Chief Doug McCloskey.

"They used the right tactics," he said.

While the drill Thursday might have been different in some respects, the situation shares parallels with other mass casualty incidents, McCloskey said.

"The circumstances are different, but the job remains very much the same," he said.

While the fake violence of Thursday's drill might have been new, it's simply part of being prepared, McCloskey said.

"If all you do is respond to plane crashes, pretty soon you start to think that's all the mass casualty incidents we'll have," he said. "No matter how imaginative you can be, you'll never imagine every scenario. We try to use what's out there in the world."

While the volunteer victims stayed inside, near the heaters, two dummies doubled as fatal shooting victims out in the snow around the theater. The drill also included a sounding gun and a fake sword.

Volunteer fireman Adam Sprehe's job – as the one wielding the gun and sword – was to cause mayhem.

"If they approach the bodies, I start shooting," he said. "If they do anything before the police come in and deal with the situation, I start shooting."

Nor were the only beneficiaries of the Thursday night not-massacre those who showed up under flashing sirens and in uniforms. Armstrong, who tried very hard not to drip any fake blood on the Nolan Center floor, said her role in the exercise would help her prepare for similar situations when she started as an EMT. She plans to receive her certificate in April.

"I'm not very good at being a patient," she said. "I think it (participating) could help me improve my response. You would know how to walk into a situation like this."

"I'm really excited," Armstrong added. "It does help to be on the other side. It helps you to go through all the steps."