More than 100 people participated in a full-day, active shooter simulation last month to test the City of Norfolk’s preparedness in the event of a critical incident. Together with the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Ohef Sholom Temple, and the Secure Community Network, the Full-Scale Exercise (FSE) tested the city’s response to a major incident at a house of worship, as well as its ability to connect and network with non-governmental entities such as UJFT, SCN, and Tidewater’s wider Jewish community.
“We tried as best we could to recreate what happened in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life synagogue. We were testing the ability of the City of Norfolk, Norfolk Fire and Rescue, and the Norfolk Police Department to get to victims more easily to receive treatment,” says Mike Goldsmith, UJFT’s SCN regional security advisor.
Ohef Sholom Temple served as the backdrop, although, in this exercise, the “crisis” involved an orthodox congregation to simulate communications challenges for that community. “There’s no use of cell phones nor electricity in an orthodox synagogue during a service. All the usual stuff that the city relies on may not work with this com- munity to get communication out,” Goldsmith explains. In this case, a joint information center was created to see how it would handle communication. The “crisis” was elevated from an active threat to the need for a special operations team once the “shooter” took a hostage.
Members of the Community Emergency Response Team served as injured congre- gants; a moulage artist applied realistic injuries so that the participating paramedics could determine the status of each wounded victim. The Medical Task Force had to triage to deliver the appropriate level of care. “Victims” of the incident were either deceased, found in critical condition, or were considered walking wounded.
“The city absolutely did well! We found things that the city and the Jewish community could be better at,” Goldsmith says. Betty Ann Levin, UJFT executive vice president/CEO, and Robin Mancoll, UJFT chief program officer and senior director, Jewish Community Relations Council, along with Rabbi Aaron Kleinman, Commander in the U.S. Navy and chair of B’nai Israel’s security, participated as the simulation cell, a group of individuals who are subject matter experts. In this incident, none of the first responders reached out to the simulation cell, which, according to Goldsmith, is a variable that needs improvement.
Goldsmith is working on the after-action/improvement plan that follows a full-scale exercise. His recommendations will be used by the City of Norfolk and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater to adjust their plans should a critical incident occur.