The Dumas School District held an active shooter drill Thursday, April 15 at the Dumas High School.
According to the School District, “The State requires that all public schools complete Active Shooter Drills during the school year. The extent of the drill is left to the schools. Some campuses in the Dumas district conduct simple lock down drills. The recent drill at the High School was meant to not just train the school, but to serve as a test for the local Emergency Response System.
The DSD has an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) in place and the staff and students receive regular practice. Planning meetings are held several times a year that include representatives from Dumas Schools as well as local First Responders. The recent drill included community components including the Dumas Police, Fire, and EMT units, Desha County Sheriff's department, Arkansas State Police and Game and Fish, all of whom took part in planning.
The drill was a good training experience and was conducted successfully from the incident through evacuation. Special Cudos to the Dumas High School staff and students for a very ready response. These drills are an example of our entire community working together to keep our schools safe.”
Dumas Police Department Chief Keith Finch described the response by first responders as excellent with some areas that still need to be worked on. Even the students who participated were outstanding.
“Any time you multiple agency respond to an incident you are going to see new things that will need to be worked on or worked out, but the overall response was tremendous,” Finch said.
