Washington Members Respond to Active Shooter Incident

September 19 • 2017

Members of Spokane County Fire District 8 Local 3711, Spokane Valley Local 876, Spokane Local 29 and Spokane Valley Chiefs Association Local 3701 were called to an active shooter scene after a Freeman High School student shot and killed another student and seriously injured three others.

All members responding to the call had received training for active shooter events, along with police officers, and were prepared to treat victims as soon as possible, increasing their chance of survival.

“When our members arrived, the shooter was already subdued, so they could go in right away,” says Jeff Wainwright, a member of Local 3711 who is also a 7th District Field Service Representative and Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) 2nd District Vice President.

He says, “They had all of the victims triaged and transported in under 30 minutes. I couldn’t be prouder of the professionalism and dedication to duty our members displayed during this incident.”

According to media reports, the shooter brought multiple guns to school. One student, who tried to stop the gunman, was shot and killed. Three other students were injured before a school employee tackled and subdued the shooter.

Post-incident, a Peer Support team was available to meet with the responding members from Locals 3711, 876, 29 and 3701.