Last month, I had the opportunity to be a victim.

Not a real victim thankfully, but still one that had to hide in a closet while law enforcement ran through a simulated active shooter event.

The training, Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, more commonly referred to as ALERRT, showcased real life situations where an “active shooter” was injuring and killing people and how law enforcement should respond to stop the killing and secure the scene.

The training used several community volunteers to stand in as the shooter and the victims, set in the new Emergency Operations Training Center police training facility.

The building, complete with several room setups, allowed the training team to position the shooter and the victims in various locations. Some, like me, hid in a closet; while others adorned red tape to represent gunshot wounds.

Law enforcement then were called to the scene and had to go into the structure knowing only certain details, much like a real active shooter scenario, and work as a team to take down the shooter, help the victims and secure the scene.

The trainers stressed that this type of simulation drill was crucial for law enforcement because every department now spoke the same language regarding how to handle such a scene.

As a community volunteer, being instructed on where to stand or sit, how to hide, what to say and then watch as law enforcement breached the building, calling out directions with training weapons drawn, was an eye-opening experience.

The stress levels rose every time a blank gun was fired or officers breached the building in search of the gunman so I couldn’t imagine how much adrenaline would be pumping in a real shooter situation.

After several hours and three scenarios played out, we walked out of there with a little more knowledge on just what police face and hoped that such a nightmare would never come to the area.

Nesquehoning Police Chief Michael Weaver, who is now certified as an ALERRT trainer, feels that gearing these trainings, not just to law enforcement, but also to the community is critical in helping in emergencies.

Weaver, in conjunction with the Carbon County Sheriff Dan Zeigler, are now preparing for a Civilian Response to Active Shooter or CRASE training from 6-8 p.m. on June 6 at the Nesquehoning Borough Hall.

If you want to help yourself, as well as your community, I highly recommend signing up for this course, which is open to 30 people.

It will provide you with insight on how to stay safe and help the community in the event a shooting occurs.

For more information or to register for the training, email Weaver at weaver@nesquehoning.org or call 570-669-9111; or Zeigler at sheriff@carboncourts.com.