It's the alert no police department wants to get: An active shooter situation taking place at a school. But sadly, many do, and because of that, first responders in Braintree, Massachusetts, are preparing.
During school vacation this week, the Flaherty Elementary School is the backdrop of an extensive training drill.
"We don't want to ever look back after an incident and say, 'Why didn't we invest time and resources into this training?'" said Deputy Chief Michael Want of the Braintree Police Department.
Each year, the department holds these drills at a different school. It has also used area businesses as backdrops. Everyone from dispatchers to the fire department play a part. Firefighters are among those geared up and entering the building as soon as they arrive.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
"Since 2015, we've had ballistic gear on the trucks," said Lt. Fred Viola, the EMS Coordinator for the Braintree Fire Department.
That gear plus this kind of training with the police is something Viola thinks puts the department and community ahead of the curve.
"We are it for the first 15 to 20 minutes when one of these things pops off, and we are already medical specialists, we're EMTs, paramedics," he said.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
Student volunteers also step in to add another element of realism.
"We want to be as lifelike as possible. Some of our people that are wearing their Apple watches, their heart rate is going up after something like this. And that's what we want," said Want. "The goal is to make it as realistic as possible. So when something happens again in this town -- and we've had high-profile incidents -- we perform with the highest level we can."
It's a weeklong training everyone hopes they never need. That also takes an emotional toll.
"A lot of these guys and girls who are going through this have kids in this town," Viola said. "They have a connection in this town, and they could very well be going to a school that one of their kids goes to."
"It's important that people, the residents of the town, know we're doing our best, that we're going to be there for them, the students," said Want. "We want the kids to know that we were there for them."
