First responders in Manteca – police, fire and ambulance personnel – participated in a mandated drill under the San Joaquin County Active Threat Protocol at Sierra High School on Thursday.
The program is designed to train emergency personnel to handle any serious threat to the students from an aggressor who might be determined to do harm on any Manteca campuses. That includes active shooters.
Manteca detective Jason Bonetti, along with fire department battalion chiefs, were in charge of the training to ready the first responders in case of an active threat with a firearm, knife or other weapon at any school in Manteca.
The activities were broadcast over the fire department emergency band with the advisory that it was only a drill occurring at the school.  Fire engines 242, 243, 245 were dispatched to the school with two ambulances and several police cars. Responders found injured victims in several classrooms that were taken to triage areas and then to waiting ambulances under the protection of officers armed with simulated automatic weapons.
It was necessary to run the drill all week because of the need to have all fire, ambulance and police personnel go through the scenarios while others remained on duty.  There were some 20 volunteers who helped provide victims and suspects who were from the Manteca Police Explorers Unit, the Ripon Police Department Explorer Unit, the be.tech Academy and the fire department’s SAFE adult volunteers.
One section to the northeast of the large school quad was cordoned off in yellow crime scene tape to keep students and office personnel from wandering into the activity.
 
To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.