Over the course of three days-February 5, 6 and 7- eight members of the Merrill Fire Department, along with members of the Merrill Police Department, Merrill Street Department, Merrill Water Utility, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, Lincoln County Emergency Management and the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors; completed the Critical Incident Management – Initial Response Training Course.
This course was led by three instructors from Wisconsin Emergency Management, while Lincoln County Emergency Management Director September Murphy was responsible for bringing the class to Merrill. Class participants received both classroom and hands on training, which gave students the opportunity to experience being the first arriving supervisor to critical incidents such as an active shooter or hazardous materials call. With the help of instructors, students were able to role play critical supervisor roles on a tabletop model of the city. The initial actions taken by emergency service workers can greatly impact the outcome of an incident.
“It was cool to see all of the respective departments working together. This is exactly what we need to do anytime we are all responding to an incident,” explains Battalion Chief Scott Krause. This course served as a basic introductory course to Unified Command which is the term used when all responding agencies’ supervisors work together to control and mitigate an incident. More specific tabletop training for potential emergencies in Merrill will take place later this year.
