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WCPSS Home >> News >> January 24 Crisis Response Exercise

Dillard Drive Practice Event Comes to Successful Conclusion

January 24, 2011 UPDATE - At 2:10 this afternoon, the multi-agency full scale exercise at the Dillard Drive Elementary and Middle campus came to a successful conclusion.

"We learned a lot during this drill, and I'm confident that this leaves Wake County's emergency responders even better prepared to communicate with each other to protect our kids," said Randy Dishong, WCPSS security investigator and exercise manager. "We met our objectives, there were no injuries, and the neighborhood is returning to normal. We want to thank the neighbors for their patience, all of the agencies for their participation, and our sponsors for their support."

January 24 Drill to be Held at Dillard Drive Campus

WCPSS investigator Randy Dishong (foreground) leads a meeting of agencies participating in the Jan. 24 exercise

January 14, 2011 - The Wake County Public School System, along with fifteen other law enforcement and emergency response agencies and organizations, will be conducting a major crisis drill on January 24. The drill will test the agencies' combined planning and reaction capacities in the event of a serious incident -- in this case, a simulated attack on a combined elementary and middle school campus. By conducting an exercise dramatizing a truly worst-case scenario, the agencies hope to better prepare for a range of emergencies.

"This exercise will dramatize an event that is more severe than any emergency our schools would likely face, but this will help us be prepared for everything," said Randy Dishong, a WCPSS security investigator and the crisis drill's exercise director. "We will be testing our ability to communicate, delineate and execute our responsibilities during a serious incident."

Participants include WCPSS, Raleigh Police Department, the Wake County Sheriff's Department, Cary Police Department, Raleigh Fire Department, Wake County Emergency Management, and many others. As part of this scenario, the agencies will create as realistic an environment as possible, including the presence of local media, helicopters and sirens.

The event is scheduled for Monday, January 24, a teacher workday, in Raleigh at Dillard Drive Elementary School and Dillard Drive Middle School. WCPSS is communicating with area residents to prepare them for potential disruptions.

"Our security team has been working with other agencies for many months to plan this exercise," said interim superintendent Donna Hargens. "It's reassuring to know that all of these professionals are working together to provide the best security for our students."

Participating Agencies and Organizations

Quotes from Other Participants

• "This exercise will be a highly valuable opportunity for our officers and will provide excellent training for individuals and units. Importantly, working with other agencies will provide participants with a chance to further develop the kind of interoperability skills that are crucially important to successfully dealing with the types of the challenges we all hope to avoid but must be prepared to handle." -- Maj. Stacy Deans, Commander, Special Operations Division, Raleigh Police Department
• "I think the drill provides the school system and law enforcement agencies an excellent opportunity to work together. Of course, we always hope that a serious incident will not occur, but if it does, we now will be better prepared to tackle whatever comes our way. The Wake County Sheriff's Office is proud to be a part of this exercise." -- Donnie Harrison, Wake County Sheriff
• "Preparedness exercises are key to maintaining the level of safety our citizens expect. We look forward to participating in the county's crisis response drill and working with our neighboring agencies to better our unified response." -- Pat Bazemore, Chief, Town of Cary Police Department
• "In today's environment, it is imperative that all law enforcement agencies be proactive in preparing for crucial incidents such as the scheduled January 24 active shooter exercise. The mock exercise will allow for our agency to work side by side with other local and state agencies and assess our organization’s preparedness." -- Col. Michael Gilchrist, Commander, North Carolina State Highway Patrol
• "Training exercises on this scale are difficult to schedule, plan and execute but they are an extremely important part of responder training. We look forward to the scenario and putting our procedures and skills to the test. We are always looking for ways to improve our performance during an emergency. The Raleigh-Wake 9-1-1 Center is looking forward to training with all of our public safety partners and with the Wake County Public School System, to ensure our agency is prepared to provide the public and responders the best emergency service possible." -- Walt Fuller, ENP, Director-Operations, Raleigh/Wake 9-1-1 Center

Wake County Public School System, 5625 Dillard Drive, Cary, NC 27518 | 919-431-7400