MIDDLETOWN — First responders simulated a terrorist attack at a local mall on Saturday.
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The City of Middletown Division of Fire and the Middletown Division of Police conducted a large-scale training exercise at Towne Mall on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., according to a press release.
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First responders from Middletown and neighboring communities responded to a simulated terrorist incident.
The simulated incident involved an explosive device that was detonated inside the mall and two active shooters present within the facility.
“The drill was designed to test our interagency operability, our communications, and our command control,” Deputy Chief Jeff Spaulding said. “It allows us, when we can do these [trainings], to see where is it that we have strengths and where do we have weaknesses.”
The departments and agencies that participated in the training exercise included:
- Warren County Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
- Butler County Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
- Ohio State Highway Patrol
- Franklin Fire/EMS
- Franklin Township Fire/EMS
- Monroe Police Department
- Monroe Fire/EMS
- Trenton Police Department
- Butler County Sheriff’s Office
- Butler County Bomb Squad
- Warren County Sheriff’s Office
- CareFlight
- Atrium Medical Center
The City of Middletown thanked all the departments that participated in the training, as well as the volunteers and students from Butler Tech, Warren County Career Center, and Bishop Fenwick High School who portrayed victims during the training exercise.
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