The EM program at Savannah River Site (SRS) has conducted its second-ever active shooter training exercise, which involved more than 300 employees.
Office of Environmental Management
August 1, 2023
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AIKEN, S.C. – The EM program at Savannah River Site (SRS) has conducted its second-ever active shooter training exercise, which involved more than 300 employees.
“This year’s emergency preparedness exercise involved an active shooter scenario resulting in simulated wounded and deceased personnel,’” said Greg Hightower, a manager with the Emergency Response Organization with EM contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). “Though this hypothetical tragedy is one we hope never occurs at SRS, the reality is we have to be prepared for such a situation. And our preparations must extend to every one of our employees at SRS, training them to run, hide or fight.”
Hundreds of hours went into carefully planning the exercise beginning over a year ago, Hightower said. In addition to the Emergency Response Organization, the site’s fire department and protective force security personnel took part, while the FBI led the post-incident investigation.
Making the scenario as real as possible was crucial to test all involved for an actual emergency, according to Amber Rodriquez, SRNS Site Drills and Exercise coordinator.
“We had 40 role players — employees who agreed to play as if they were the wounded, traumatized or deceased for the event,” said Rodriquez. “Many were actually transported by ambulances to Aiken Regional Medical Center. Others were declared dead at the scene by the Aiken County Coroner. It was highly realistic.”
Savannah River Site (SRS) Fire Department personnel carefully rush an SRS employee, who acted as if wounded during an emergency response exercise, to a waiting ambulance. The event helped members of the rescue team further improve their skills, knowledge and experience during the training.
The active shooter threat has emerged nationwide, making it imperative that SRS continue to train and prepare its protective force to respond quickly and effectively to mitigate such an event, said Mark Bolton, general manager at Centerra-SRS, the site’s security contractor.
“In these exercises, we are able to evaluate our response capabilities and be better prepared to provide a seamless integration of all site resources, including security, fire, medical and emergency management,” Bolton said.
Three site-level emergency preparedness drills, one exercise and several tabletop drills are held each year at SRS. From high level executives to employees within the affected facilities, each is trained and tested within a wide range of potential emergency situations.
“Our Emergency Response Organization is ready to take on just about anything, be it radiological, chemical, severe weather or related to security,” said Lee Schifer, director of SRNS Safeguards, Security and Emergency Services. “We fully recognize it’s our responsibility and take that seriously. Protecting our employees, the environment and the public surrounding the Savannah River Site is of the utmost importance.”
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