It was a brisk fall morning on Thursday as over a dozen Carbon County first responders gathered at the new Emergency Operations Training Center to practice how to save lives during high stress emergencies.

This was the first training at the center since it was officially completed on Tuesday, when Carbon officials received the occupancy permit.

Dan Zeigler, Carbon County sheriff and member of the EOTC planning committee, said this was a long time coming and he was happy to see this come to fruition.

“This wasn’t just for fire and police, it was for all first responders and the very first training here is for our EMS services,” he said, adding that this new training center is a critical resource for the local emergency responders because it cuts down on the amount of time they are away from the county.

“Training is critical because we watch the news every day,” Zeigler added. “How dangerous it is becoming across the country. So to be able to have our folks trained locally, in the event something were to happen, the first responders in this county will be very well prepared to handle all those situations.

Gregg Harleman, director of education for Lehighton Ambulance, said that the training the responders were taking was called Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, which aimed to involve EMS response, in cooperation with police, during active shooting scenarios and treatment on the spot.

“It’s life saving care if you can get into it right away,” Harleman said.

Instructor Ken Davidson, assistant chief at Second Alarmers Rescue Squad, said the responders will learn how to deal with high stress emergencies, such as active shooters, through various simulations.

The training center allowed the group to set up different scenarios that EMS may encounter using both the police training rooms, burn building, as well as using objects like paint ball guns to simulate gunfire.

“We’re going to put the students through a variety of exercises that put them under stress to make sure they’ve learned all the principles of care,” Davidson said.

General concepts the course aims to teach includes the phases of care and hemorrhage control, stopping bleeding and tourniquets, wound packing and patient lifts and drags.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who has been a driving force behind the project since it officially began in 2015, said that this is a great day to see everything come together and be utilized by first responders.

He said that the goal has been to get as many involved as possible and the more various groups can train, the better things will be at a scene.

The $10 million Carbon County Emergency Operations Training Center was dedicated on Sept. 11, as the buildings neared completion.