Ephrata hosts active shooter roundtable exercise

First responders gather to learn preparedness tools and prep for what they hope never happens

EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District hosted a number of first responders, emergency personnel and district staff Monday for a tabletop exercise to prepare involved agencies as well as identify any places for improvement in the case of an active shooter incident at the high school. “The worst time to be shaking hands is when you show up at the disaster,” said Kyle Foreman, Emergency Management Specialist with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. “So we all took the effort to meet so we gain familiarity with not only each other but with what each other's policies are, what limitations we have and what strengths we can all bring to the effort because it takes an entire community to make this successful.” The Ephrata School District, Ephrata Fire Department, Ephrata Police Department, City of Ephrata Public Works, Grant County Sheriff's Office, American Medical Response Grant County, Washington State Department of Transportation Eastern Region HQ and Washington Emergency Management Division all participated in the event...