More than 100 educators, emergency responders, students and parents gathered at Ridgefield High School on Friday, April 24, for a full-scale emergency exercise designed to test how schools and first responders would work together during a crisis.
The multi-agency training centered on the response to a simulated tanker truck collision near Ridgefield High School that would cause a hazardous materials release. The exercise walked through evacuation and reunification procedures involving Ridgefield High School and Cascadia Tech Academy students. Representatives from school districts across Clark County joined law enforcement and fire personnel, the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) and Educational Service District 112 for the exercise.
Ridgefield School District Superintendent Dr. Jenny Rodriquez said the drill marked a milestone in regional preparedness planning.
“We are excited to be really the first pilot location for a countywide emergency evacuation and reunification drill,” Rodriquez said. “I would say the thing I’m most excited about is the partnership.”
That partnership brought together school safety officials, multiple police departments and communications personnel to Ridgefield High School to test plans beyond how they look on paper.
“It always looks different in person with real people,” Rodriquez said.
With the exercise simulating a hazardous materials emergency requiring an off-site evacuation and reunification with families, around 40 students participated by evacuating a pair of classrooms and ultimately getting on school buses to the off-site location to meet up with parents and volunteer role players. The reunification process challenged staff to navigate different reunification scenarios.
“The best time to build coordination is before an emergency happens,” said Dr. Charlotte Ellis, executive director of schools and leadership for the Ridgefield School District, in a press release. “Exercises like this give our school teams and emergency partners the opportunity to practice side by side, strengthen communication and make sure we are fully prepared to support students and families when every minute matters.”
For Rodriquez, the drill also served as a chance to build the kind of muscle memory needed in a real emergency situation.
“We know that adults, in the case of a true emergency, will fall back on their training,” she said. “So it’s incredibly important that people get to actually experience this and walk this process so that if we ever have to do it, there is some. I think there’s just some sense of feeling better about that we know what to do and having that training because it does, you do revert back to that muscle memory.”
Throughout the exercise, agencies tested communication systems and coordination protocols shaped in part by the region’s adoption of the Standard Response Protocol two years ago. The protocol established consistent emergency terminology across schools in the six-county ESD 112 region.
“Emergency plans are only as strong as our ability to carry them out together,” said Harold Chaves, emergency management training and exercise coordinator with CRESA, in the release. “Today’s exercise gave schools, emergency responders and community partners the opportunity to test those plans in real time, identify areas for improvement and strengthen our shared readiness across Clark County.”
Ridgefield High School parent Lourdes Langan, who participated in the training, said in the release that the hands-on exercise offered reassurance.
“As both a parent and an emergency manager, it was reassuring to see the strong coordination between the school, law enforcement and community partners,” Langan said. “Practicing with real students and families takes us beyond just having a plan. It offers the opportunity to test the process, and helps staff and students get experience walking through an emergency in a controlled environment. This practice allows everyone can act quickly and confidently when it matters most.”
Prior to the exercise, Rodriquez stressed the drill was not built around an active shooter scenario, though the response structure could apply in a range of emergencies. Instead, organizers chose a hazardous materials release to allow participants to focus on evacuation and reunification without introducing traumatic elements.
The exercise also gave regional leaders a chance to identify gaps and refine procedures for future training. School district and agency partners plan to host another exercise in the future and will use insights from today’s experience to continue strengthening emergency procedures and coordination across our county’s schools, the release added.
Volunteering as the host site reflected a broader message to the community, Rodriquez highlighted.
“We always want our community to know that we care deeply about student and staff safety,” she said. “That is why we as a district volunteered to be the practicing facility.”
