I screwed up the questions, so please repost your replies.

During something like an active killer event, a warm zone is an area that is protected by armed law enforcement and not under current active fire, but some danger still exists. Usually that’s because it hasn’t been confirmed that the killer has been neutralized or apprehended, or the possibility exists that there could be other unaccounted-for subjects at large.

Many agencies have policies that medical personnel who aren’t trained to operate with law enforcement SWAT units may not enter areas that haven’t been declared as fully secured and “cold.” The problem that’s being recognized is that Tactical Medics are few in number and will bypass victims to accompany the LE team. If other medical personnel can’t or won’t enter warm zones, that often means that victims are left without care for long periods and many preventable deaths have occurred as a result.

Note that I realize a question like this would ultimately depend on many details that can’t be anticipated in a poll question. If you want to participate, answer with your first instinct.

Question:
If there was an active shooter event at a school, and if you weren’t prohibited from doing so, would you volunteer to enter an area while unarmed yourself along with armed law enforcement protection while the subject was still at large to evacuate or treat non-LE gunshot victims?

Choices:
Yes.
No.

Question:
If you voted “no” above, would you enter such a situation if you could be armed and armored yourself with your own weapon and gear, but not as part of a trained tactical team?

Choices:
I voted “yes” above.
Yes.
No.

 

I voted yes, for a couple of reasons.
1. It’s my sworn duty to save lives, risk a little to save a little risk a lot to save a lot. In my mind It’s no different then the fire that I willingly run into. I will not stand idly by and have people bleed to death because of a perceived safety threat, I couldn’t live with myself.
2. I carry a gun pretty much all the time except at work. In a chaotic scene that actually requires me to work to save lives, I would rather be able to focus on my job, rather then keeping my self safe, and keeping my firearm under my control. Our process couples us with armed PD officers and they can watch my six while I work.

I have some brothers that I work with that proved in a very public event that they were willing to lay it on the line for PD and we would do the same for our citizens.

Given the Army and Medical training I find myself moving before I think. My Dad dropped with what we thought was his third heart attack. First thought:"Its the big one. I don't want to be here." Last thought: "I've got this."
Afterwards, my father's friend took me aside. "I've known you since you were a young kid. While you were working on your Dad, I didn't recognize you." To a great extend, how you react depends on your training.

Most of our local medics are trained to do this. They're going in right behind those with guns to start extracting victims.

What this world could really use is fewer people who don't know what they're doing preventing those who do from helping.

If you want to hide behind your patrol car because it's "too dangerous" great. Don't stop those who want to go in to help from doing so. I don't care if that person is another cop, a medic, or the football coach.

I am by no means "medical personnel", however, trained in the USAF in several iterations of medical intervention, lifesaving, self medical assessment and self care and of others.

That, coupled with other duties, I would not hesitate to go in to assist any way I could.

Even the "real medical personnel" can use an extra hand or other assistance. Especially in something as chaotic as this.

Perhaps the military part brings about the "duty to act" thing.

But I could not stand by and do nothing, if it looked like I could do something.

I carry all the time, but if for some reason I were not armed, I would still press on.

You'd have to physically restrain me to prevent me from helping those kids.
Let the Good Lord protect me in my righteous duty or my I fall a hero.

^^^^^

I have been to two of these things in my 23 years on the job. And the right answer lies somewhere in the middle. You need medics, like cops, who are willing to say “fuck it, let’s roll”.

But, it can not be medics just running in to “help” with no coordination. They quickly become part of the problem. A complex problem that the number one goal is finding the shooter and shooting him in the face. The more people that infuse themselves into the problem, the harder the problem is to solve. And mid-scene is NOT the time for dick measuring on either side. Find a way to solve the problem, find the shooter, and put him down.

It’s not an all or none problem. And if the shooter is still active, the scene is not “warm” it’s hot. And the wounded should be evacuated by medics and LE that aren’t in the hunt.

In January, we treated students and evacuated them as we found them. We worked really well with medical, and I am proud of them. Thank the Lord for brave medics. They save a lot of lives.

I will ask everyone who may be interested to answer my question based on my definition of a “warm” zone, which is how I’ve seen other authorities describe it as well. I’m not sure what a warm zone would be if my scenario didn’t include it.

And lest we become sidetracked, I will remind everyone that my question asked about volunteering, and not about self-deploying and running into a scene on one’s own and making the situation worse (and based on the reports I’ve read is usually more common among law enforcement officers, not medics).

jljones, thanks for your observations it’s good to hear from someone who has been in the thick of it.
They way we define it is an area where the shooter no longer is and our SOP’s allow an RTF in that area with PD escort and ballistic gear.

I’m of the opinion that we “might” not go far enough with the RTF model. I’m willing to roll with PD closer to the shooter if needed, like the old guys on the job used to say, “pull your boots up it’s time to go to work”