National events influence IU's emergency procedures

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Incidents of gun violence that have captured the nation's attention also play a role in shaping Indiana University's emergency plans and procedures, school officials say.

IU Bloomington Emergency Management and Continuity Director Debbi Fletcher says the school, In conjunction with the IU Police Department, is always updating its plans and procedures with new lessons learned from these incidents.

"It's a tragedy whenever any type of emergency or disaster occurs," Fletcher said, "especially when it is human caused, but we do learn from each incident and try to incorporate those lessons into our plans and procedures."

Every year, Fletcher said, IU does a different type of training exercise, whether a tabletop discussion or full-scale drill. Last year, the campus held its first full-scale active shooter drill, complete with 150 people, including actors and a "masked gunman."

"The exercise is the opportunity to test ourselves and make sure we don't have any gaps in the training or planning," said Fletcher.

The Bloomington Herald Times (http://bit.ly/1NnuFje ) reports that the school identified last year several logistical areas for improvement, such as giving the number of people injured instead of just saying there are injuries.

IU public safety director Jerry Minger said university police training is also incorporating changes to its response plans in the aftermath of several mass shootings.

"The police training and response for active shooter changed and increased drastically soon after the Columbine incident for all law enforcement," said Minger. "The aspect of trauma treatment was folded into police training since Sandy Hook."

Minger said IU has adopted the federally recommended "Run, Hide, Fight" method of responding to active shooters.

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com