China Grove residents and motorists will hear lots of sirens and see dozens of law enforcement officers converge on Carson High School Saturday morning. It's a drill that's been planned for months designed to simulate a chase, ending with an armed man entering Carson High School taking hostages. Law enforcement, emergency services, fire service and school personnel will all test their emergency response and procedures. Tony Hilton, Rowan County's Risk Manager, said Carson students have been invited to participate to make the exercise as realistic as possible. Law enforcement will enter the school, rescue trapped students and will search for and apprehend the armed subject.
Area residents and motorists traveling on N.C.152 at Carson High School will see a large contingent of emergency vehicles beginning around 8 a.m. as the teams assemble at the Hitachi plant parking lot near Carson. The exercise is expected to last until early afternoon. The Rowan County Sheriff's Office, the Rowan-Salisbury Schools, China Grove Fire and Police Departments, Landis Police, Bostian Heights Volunteer Fire Department, N.C. Highway Patrol and Rowan County Emergency Services will participate in the exercise. Hilton said Local Emergency Planning Committee began planning the exercise in October.
A final session to coordinate the efforts was held Tuesday afternoon. While those involved know the drill will involve a armed hostage taker, they won't know his plans or how he will act, thereby creating a realistic situation. This is the first such exercise in several years. More recent exercises have simulated other emergencies, including train wrecks.
