Just days after the shooting in San Diego, police in Canton, Massachusetts held an active shooter drill at a local synagogue Wednesday.
The Canton fire and police departments worked together in a fast paced training scenario. It is a scenario they say they hope never comes to fruition, but they still have to stay prepared.
"Ten years ago we really didn’t discuss very much, we had our job to do—put out fires and take people to the hospital and chief Berkowitz and his folks had his job to do," said Canton Fire Chief Charles Doody. "But over the past ten years or so we have had more conversations on what if it happened here. What if a Columbine happened here? What are we going to do?"
Wednesday’s training happened to be at a local synagogue, an eerie coincidence just days after the shooting in San Diego, but this training had been planned months in advance.
"Obviously the house of worship is an emerging threat and its here," said Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz.
Police and firefighters continually train throughout the year at different locations, whether it be a school, business, and now a place of worship. It helps them get to know different areas they might have to respond to.
"The injuries are the same, the treatment is the same, working together is the same, but they environments are different so it benefits us to train in as many as we can,” said Doody.
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The training helps them find holes where they need to improve so they can better prepare their men and women for the real thing. No matter how much they practice, there is one thing they will never be able to fully prepare for.
"I don't think you can ever really prepare emotionally to see your family and friends in a situation like that," said Doody. "I think tactically we will be prepared because we are training together, but emotionally that would be difficult to prepare for."
