In the wake of the explosion and shootings in Norway last Friday, one might ask themselves is Renton prepared for such a large-scale violent incident. City fire, emergency services and police were put to the test this week during a mass-casualty drill downtown.

Fire and emergency services crews took over the area of 200 Mill Ave. S. – the former Renton City Hall next to the downtown library – to stage the event. The simulation involved responding to violence in an office, where there are civilian patients and a shooter inside the building.

The drill was conducted Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and took place primarily inside of the building in the lobby and on selected floors. The training was held over three days to allow for city departments and partnering agencies to send different crews for each session without unduly impacting their operational capabilities and coverage.

“This type of training is required and important for fire, police and emergency medical responders to have,” said Mark Peterson, Fire and Emergency Services Administrator in a release. “Something like this can happen anywhere and at any time, so it is important for us to be prepared and able to work together efficiently and effectively.”

The last time Renton Fire and Emergency Services had to respond to a mass casualty incident was the 2009 shootings outside of Pounders Bar, said Eric Wallgren, deputy fire chief.

But, he points to the shootings that happened over the weekend at a car show in Kent and the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn as examples of the kind of mass casualty incidents the agencies are training for today.

During the exercise, Renton Fire Department Ladder 11 is the first to arrive after the scene has been secured by police and the shooter was apprehended. Dressed in their personal protection eye gear and gowns, they quickly move towards the building, heading to the casualties on the sixth floor to triage the situation. More medic and aid units arrive. Next volunteers, nine total, dressed in moulage and make-up to simulate bloody injuries, are brought down and lined up outside of the building.

In this treatment area, crews prep the patients and get them ready for transport to the hospital. Thirty minutes after the initial dispatch, all the patients have been loaded up and are enroute to the hospital.

“This is our opportunity to practice what we would do in a real-life situation and have the advantage of using this building so it may not be familiar  to all the responders,” said Wallgren.

It adds a sense of realism to the event as opposed to doing the training at the fire department’s drill tower, he said.

If an incident such as this were to occur with nine patients, that would exceed the department’s current resources. So the city would rely on mutual aid from surrounding fire agencies and possibly police departments.

“It’s always nice to have multiple agencies get together in these types of incidents because we do depend on our neighbors to handle these types of incidents,” Wallgren said.

Also participating were firefighters from Valley Regional Fire Authority, King County Fire District 20 and Tukwila along with EMS providers from Tri Med Ambulance and Medic One.