'Emergency' on campus at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Guns were drawn as police, fire and EMS personnel were dispatched to the Purdue University airport Wednesday.

Purdue was simulating an emergency to test the response and preparedness of those units. Purdue Police Chief John Cox said it's important all responders know how to handle multiple roles.

"In this particular case, I was out of town and not available. And so, that puts people in positions that typically aren't in these situations and enforces them to make decisions and it just tests the process," said Cox.

The test featured an assault by armed gunmen and was designed to be similar to the Virginia Tech tragedy in 2007. Purdue spokesperson Jeanne Norberg said the university is one of 14 in the country to have its own police, fire and EMS units.

"It's very important that our people drill so when something happens and they have to make decisions very quickly, they will be ready," said Norberg.

The university made every effort to make sure Wednesday's test was like a real scenario. Text messages, emails, outdoor sirens were activated just like they would be if the situation were real.

The emergency test was paid for by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. This is the first time in almost 10 years Purdue has performed a drill of this size.

Fire Chief Kevin Ply said this test was a first that allowed on-site triage tactics to be used.

"Purdue University is a very safe community, but we have to practice on these worst case scenarios in case something like this ever did happen," said Ply.

"We put a real life stress on our resources and it shows you where you may have some weaknesses in those resources and it shows you where you have those strengths," said Cox.

Chief Cox said a debriefing was held shortly after the drill was over so everyone could go over the results. He said final results won't be available until later this week.

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