Eureka Police organizes large

From front, Eureka Police Chief Michael Wiegand, Assistant Fire Chief Scott Barthelmass and Fire Marshal Rich Pallarito sit in the St. Louis Regional Response System mobile command center at Eureka High School. The vehicle would be used in a large-scale emergency and is equipped with satellite communication technology.

St. Louis County first-responder agencies ran through large-scale emergency training exercises last month at Eureka High School.

Police officers, firefighters and Rockwood School District officials practiced responses for emergencies such as an active shooter or bomb threat.

The Eureka Police Department organized the July 6 event.

“It’s a regional approach to that response because no single agency can handle an event like this on their own,” Eureka Police Capt. Michael Werges said.

Werges said about 35 officers from the Eureka, St. Louis County, Ellisville, Wildwood, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Manchester, Sunset Hills, Crestwood and Des Peres police departments as well as representatives from the school district, St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association and Eureka Fire Protection District took part in the exercises.

Werges said no emergency sirens were used so that passing cars or nearby residents were not alarmed, and both Eureka Police and Rockwood used Facebook posts to advise residents about the drills in days leading up to the training.

“The objective of this exercise aims to practice a coordinated and measured response to dealing with a large-scale emergency,” Eureka Police said in a statement announcing the event. “The successful response to such an incident involves a regional approach. We aim to work in partnership with stakeholders to ensure we will be ready to respond if such an incident occurs.”

Training

Police officers went over the goals of the training starting at 8 a.m., and the exercises started at about 9:30 a.m. and ended at about noon.

After reviewing the day’s goals, officers gathered at a staging area south of Eureka High School, 4525 Hwy. 109, near the Schnucks supermarket, 245 E. Fifth St.

Werges said the staging area is important because officers can organize into teams and provide a united front before arriving at an emergency situation.

At the staging area, squads of five to six officers were formed and then dispatched to the high school.

“(The teams) can be from five different departments or all from the same department, depending on how they respond on the radio,” Werges said.

When the squads arrived at Eureka High, officers entered the building with an assigned task.

The assignments included securing the football field, controlling traffic in the parking lot and clearing hallways in the school. Werges said clearing and securing hallways during an active shooter situation is key to getting people out of the building.

“Like a scavenger hunt, each officer is given a minor job in a certain area of the school,” he said. “Once they reach that area, there is a debriefing. We’re not looking at tactics, we’re just having them respond to a call.”

Working together

Werges said each police department that took part in the training follows large-scale-emergency plans developed by the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association.

“We’re also working with Rockwood to make sure our plans intermingle and that if we find any deficiencies, we can correct them,” Werges said. “We will find things that we did right, and we will find things that we did wrong. The purpose is to make sure that the things we do wrong, we can correct them.”

Rockwood Superintendent Curtis Cain said the training event is a matter of necessity for the district.

“The longer I do this, the more I learn it’s about the relationships,” he said. “I was in the briefing room, and I can tell you there’s nothing but collegiality. Regardless of the agency, everybody’s on the same page, the same sheet of music, in understanding how important this is.”

A media staging area was set up in the southeast corner of the high school parking during the training. In a written release, Eureka Police said coordinating a media response during an emergency is crucial for the community.

“We recognize the importance (the media) plays in putting out timely information, which is the purpose of doing some light exercises with the media as well,” the release said.

A mobile command center also was set up in the parking lot. The command center is equipped with satellite communication technology.

Werges said in the event of an emergency, the initial command center would be in the back of a squadron car, but the mobile command center would be used for extensive emergencies.

He said each squad car is equipped with a crisis response kit that has first aid supplies, tools to break down a door and personal protective gear.

Cain said preparing for threats and ensuring safety standards is the “meat and potatoes” of operating a school district.

“You have two choices,” he said. “You can put your head in the sand, or you can be very open and honest with the threats that are confronting all of us.

“It’s not just about the district. It’s not just the lower-case letter ‘we,’ it’s the capital case. We understand how important this is.”

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Receive classifieds every morning.

Receive an email every Wednesday when the Leader's e-editions are posted online.

Get updated on upcoming Leader Senior Expos and news just for seniors.

Get the latest headlines on local sports in your inbox on every Friday.

Receive top local news headlines every day.

Receive a list of local obituaries every day.