MERRIMAC — Merrimac Police Chief Eric Shears, Newburyport City Marshal Matthew Simons, Salisbury Police Chief Thomas W. Fowler and Amesbury Police Chief Craig Bailey are pleased to report that their departments collaborated to provide Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) training to more than 150 first responders, town officials and educators from around the region.
The training was conducted in multiple sessions in September and October. It reached individuals from 26 agencies, including 11 regional communities, seven school districts, two regional EMS services and more.
The training, which included both tabletop exercises and simulated training scenarios, was aimed at improving collaboration between regional agencies during major events, and to prepare officers to stop the killing and shift to treating victims as quickly as possible. It also trained participants to work together more smoothly during such events.
The training also included a scenario in which a voting site was attacked, enabling first responders and others to prepare for an active shooter or hostile event at a polling place.
Officer Adam Lischinsky, of the Salisbury Police Department, applied for and received a $33,880 grant from the Northeast Homeland Security Regional Advisory Council (NERAC) to fund the collaborative training.
Officer Lischinsky was assisted in organizing the training by Merrimac Police Sgt. Richard Holcroft, Amesbury Police Officer Jonathan Morrill, and Newburyport Police Officer Robert Coppola.
The training was conducted in recognition of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security adopting a statewide standard for proactive, integrated ASHER response from the National Fire Protection Association.
“I want to recognize and thank Officer Lischinsky, Sgt. Holcroft, Officer Morrill and Officer Coppola for their dedicated and driven work to make this training a reality,” said Chief Shears. “This training reached agencies across our region and prepared us to work together more closely and professionally in the event that the unthinkable happens.”
“This training provided an invaluable opportunity to collaborate and partner with other first responders and community stakeholders across the region” said Marshal Simons. “I am grateful for the dedication and commitment of each of the instructors. Our agencies are better trained and better prepared because of their hard work.”
“I have never been disappointed with the training provided by our local Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Trainers and this training undoubtedly lived up to their high standards” said Chief Bailey. “I was incredibly excited to see our local partners from Fire, EMS, Schools and the City taking part in this essential training, and I look forward to the future partnerships trainings like these create.”
“This was excellent and timely training for all involved. The more interagency cooperation we foster, the more successful we will be during these emergencies,” said Chief Fowler. “Officer Adam Lischinsky worked tirelessly to obtain the funding and brought together an impressive group of instructors for this critical training. I cannot thank him and everyone else involved enough. The result will be better response and service for our communities.”
Agencies represented at the training were: Action Ambulance Service, Amesbury Fire Department, Amesbury Police Department, Amesbury Public Schools, Atlantic Ambulance/Cataldo, Central Catholic High School, City of Amesbury – Mayor’s Office, Georgetown Fire Department, Georgetown Police Department, Hudson, N.H. Police Department, Ipswich Fire Department, Ipswich Police Department, Ipswich Public Schools, Littleton Police Department, Merrimac Police Department, Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), Newbury Police Department, Newburyport Police Department, Newburyport Public Schools, Northeast Region EMS Council, Pentucket Regional School District, Salisbury Fire Department, Salisbury Police Department, South Hampton, N.H. Police Department, South Hampton School District, Triton Regional School District and West Newbury Police Department.
