ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q2-2025

Continued from "Rescue Task Force", on page 57

of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, “The fate of the wounded lies in the hands of the ones who apply the first dressing.” 8 In 1886, Doctor Senn was warning against pro crastination 9 and we need to heed it. Time is of the essence and common-sense dictates that waiting for the “all clear” for initial entry by Fire/EMS can unnecessarily cost lives. The victim’s clock is ticking and depending on the extent of their injuries, they could die of uncontrolled blood loss within minutes. More lives can be saved if Fire/EMS personnel are appropriately equipped and trained to work in close conjunction with their law enforce ment partners. Over the years much has been accomplished in this area, but RTF takes active shooter response to the next level. It provides for triage, treatment, and rapid transport of wounded to the surgical care they desperately need. We all have our traditional roles to play during an emergency. However, pre paring, training, and working together is a force multiplier that lends itself to team building, increased appreciation, and better all-around coordination and cohesiveness that will only benefit the communities that we serve. Fire/EMS agencies utilize the National Fire Protection Asso ciation (NFPA) 3000 Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response and it parallels the law enforcement efforts. The NFPA 3000 provides resources for communities that can help to plan for, respond to, and recover from active shooter incidents and hostile events. It includes the need for an integrated response from both Law Enforcement and Fire/EMS services and adher ence to NIMS/ICS Unified Command protocols. The NFPA 3000 is not a national mandate, nor does it dictate tasks, tactics, or strat egies. It provides guidance and can be used as a catalyst for im portant conversations between community stakeholders. There is no one answer to these dynamic, large-scale incidents and public safety agencies are on the same page, agreeing that work needs to begin in the community before an incident occurs. As stated in the NFPA 3000, “The need for an integrated preparedness, re sponse, and recovery program is greater than ever before.” 10 We know from past incidents such as the Boston Marathon Bombing that multi-jurisdictional cooperation and response can be crucial to the successful resolution of an incident. 11 The planning, train ing, and many coordinated regional efforts prior to the incident resulted in personal relationships that led to integrated resource sharing and overall cooperation that saved lives and helped track down the suspects. This cooperative coordination was critical due to the magnitude of that incident. Currently, Massachusetts is investing in emergency preparedness and community resiliency across the state by implementing and providing training that adheres to the NFPA 3000: Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Se curity (EOPSS), through the Municipal Police Training Commit tee (MPTC) and the Department of Fire Services (DFS) are hosting a series of training courses from Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT). The Active Attack Integrated Response (AAIR) classes are designed to “improve integration be tween law enforcement, fire, tele-communicator and emergency medical services (EMS)” during an active attack or active shooter incident. 12 This integrated approach allows for the exercising of mutual aid agreements and the application of unified com mand, as well as testing capabilities of communications. The course receives positive reviews from both police and Fire/EMS who agree that RTF training is a worthy collaboration. 13

Clearly, the mission of the Rescue Task Force is to save lives. It employs small squad tactics along with the close coordination and integration of law enforcement and Fire/EMS resources to reach victims sooner and provide life-saving aid. In working to gether we can accomplish much more. The RTF concept can raise the confidence, proficiency, and improve the operational capa bilities of those that complete the RTF training. Each jurisdiction or region should coordinate and train together to ensure optimal services can be provided. Working together with our public safe ty partners and bringing life-saving medical aid directly to the victims in a timelier fashion, we can stop the dying and increase the survivability rate at a mass casualty incident. The key to suc cess in this endeavor is inter-agency cooperation and resource sharing which builds on the team approach and increases the overall capacity to manage such incidents. These commonsense changes can dramatically aid the mission of the first responders and shift the odds of survival in the victims’ favor, reducing the number of preventable deaths. We, as professionals, must con tinue to develop tactics and protocols that raise the bar for victim survival, which is just what the Rescue Task Force concept does. As was attributed to Archilochus in the seventh century, “We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.” 14 Recent events prove that statement is still valid. The time to train for Rescue Task Force is now and the citizens of our communities will be the true beneficiaries of this effort. References: 1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/task%20force 2 https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/assets/ics%20organizational %20structure%20and%20elements.pdf 3 https://bulletin.facs.org/2013/06/improving-survival-from-active-shooter-events 4 Straub, Frank, Jack Cambria, Jane Castor, Ben Gorban, Brett Meade, David Waltemeyer, and Jennifer Zeunik. 2017. Rescue, Response, and Resilience: A Critical Incident Review of the Orlando Public Safety Response to the Attack on the Pulse Nightclub. Critical Response Initiative. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 5 https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and articles/bulletin/2018/03/southern-nevada-trauma-system-uses-proven- techniques-to-save-lives-after-1-october shooting/ 6 Blair, J. Pete, Nichols, Terry, Burns, David, Curnutt, John. 2013. Active Shooter Events and Response, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press. (page 69). 7 https://fbi.gov/survive 8 Nicholas Senn and the Origins of AMSUS, Military Medicine, Volume 164, 1999 9 IBID 10 NFPA 3000; www.nfpa.org 11 Leonard, Herman, Cole, Christine, Howitt, Arnold, Heymann, Philip. 2014. Why was Boston Strong? Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombing. Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA 12 https://alerrt.org/course_types/AAIR 13 https://jgpr.net/2024/08/15/photos-lunenburg-police-and-fire-departments- participate-in-active-shooter response-training/ 14 https://www.workmanagementinsights.com/words/training

About the Author: James Cullen retired from law enforcement after working as an Analyst for the FBI Vio lence Reduction Unit/Active Shooter Training Initiative. Prior to that, he retired as the Deputy Chief of Police in Groton, Massachusetts. He served as a Task Force Officer assigned to the FBI Violence Reduction Unit and Boston FBI Drug Unit. He holds certifications as an Active Shooter Instructor in both Law Enforcement and Civilian disciplines. He was a 12-year member of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) Regional Response Team and is a graduate of the FBI Crisis Negotiation Course. Mr. Cullen earned two

master’s degrees, one in Criminal Justice Administration from Western New Eng land College and the second in Leadership from Norwich University. He is a proud graduate of the 243rd Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He is an adjunct instructor for Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Train ing (ALERRT), a member of the FBINAA Speakers Bureau, and has presented at the FBINAA’s ongoing School Shooting Prevention Leadership Forum series.

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