SKC hosts Active Threat Intervention Symposium

The Salish and Kootenai College campus was busy earlier this month, and not just because students were in and around the buildings.

An Active Threat Intervention Symposium was offered Aug. 14-16 through registration on the campus.

Covering multiple careers, Greg Gould, director of emergency services for SKC, said the training provided opportunity for multiple disciplines to work together during an event.

“When tragedy strikes, everyone knows what they have to do in their own discipline,” he said, adding there isn’t much training that looks at all disciplines during an active threat.

Three people, including Gould, brainstormed ideas of a conference when they came up the idea of the symposium in late winter. Once the idea was solidified, Gould said, “we just ran with it.”

The integrated concept of training has received a lot of attention, he said, because of how often shootings occur in the United States.

Through strong networking ties, SKC brought three of seven universities from around the country known as “the centers of excellence.” Those centers are part of The National Domestic Prepardness Consortium.

The relationships allowed SKC officials to bring world-class training to Pablo, Gould said.

Twenty-five instructors were on hand providing what Gould called “world class training” to 162 registered people from around Montana.