Emergency Drill Jan. 16-18 to be Staged at Scripps College and HMC

A multi-agency training drill simulating an active shooter will be conducted by Los Angeles County first responders at Scripps College Jan. 16-18 from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the loudest exercises occurring between 10 and 11:30 a.m. each day.

In the wake of several tragic shooting incidents at school campuses across the United States, Los Angeles-area first responders will conduct the active shooter training exercise to reinforce their skills in the pursuit and neutralization of one or more simulated active shooters.

This realistic, dramatic drill will take place at the Scripps College Performing Arts Center (Garrison Theater) and adjacent areas. The drill will engage Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff’s department helicopters, one or more of which will land in Harvey Mudd College’s Linde Field for simulated medical evacuations.

Personnel from the L.A. County Fire Department and the Claremont Police Department will take part in the training together with local ambulance service providers and role-players from The Claremont Colleges. Emergency responders will practice their skills in the areas of victim treatment, removal and transport.

The drill will be very loud between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. each day. Role-playing “victims” will leave Garrison Theater screaming around 10 a.m. There will be sirens from ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks and rescue vehicles. Helicopters with sheriff’s department snipers will hover overhead. All weapons used in the exercise will contain blanks.

Signage about the drill will be placed around Scripps’ campus and surrounding areas. The local neighborhood and greater Claremont community are being notified by the City of Claremont.

Parking

Traffic and parking restrictions will be in place all three days.  Steele parking lot at the corner of Dartmouth and 11th will be used by emergency personnel, media and observers and will be a check-in station. Parking on Dartmouth—from 9th to 12th Streets—will be restricted as these streets will be utilized as a staging area by various fire and ambulance services.

The Scripps College Performing Arts Center parking lot will hold law enforcement vehicles.

Other parking restrictions include:

• No parking on Columbia Avenue between 9:30 a.m. and noon
• No parking on 10th and 11th between Columbia and Dartmouth between 7 a.m. and noon
• The McAlister parking lot will be closed each morning as a staging area for the role-playing victims and for ambulance transport.