A team of made up of Moultrie police officers, sheriff’ s deputies, a Moultrie Fire Department firefighter and a Volunteer Fire Association firefighter rush into the building to render aid. This shows an example of the cooperation between EMS personnel and law enforcement. Photo by Adelia Ladson
> EMS & Fire
When Hart got up and spoke to the class, he said, his focus would be on triage, the operations from EMS and Fire standpoint, and incident command from EMS and Fire standpoint.
“ Continuous training in MCI( mass casualty incidents) scenarios is equally vital. These rare but devastating incidents require rapid triage, resource management, and critical decision-making under pressure. Ongoing education and realistic exercises help responders maintain their readiness, improve interagency coordination, and adapt to evolving threats such as active shooters, large-scale accidents, and natural disasters. Repetition builds muscle memory and confidence— two key elements in ensuring that responders perform effectively when lives are on the line,” said Hart.
He started out by asking the class who the overall incident commander was and individuals responded“ law enforcement.”
“ Law enforcement is the incident commander of everything. They call all the shots. Now who is that law enforcement officer? Who’ s it gonna be? Is it gonna be the chief of police is it gonna be the sheriff?” he asked the class.
Individuals responded that it would be the first officer on scene and Hart added the person with the most knowledge of the situation. He also said that the incident commander was not always the highest person on the totem pole.
“ If somebody gets there and they know a lot about the situation— a lot about the school, or the church or the building— that’ s the commander,” he said.
44 MoultrieScene AUGUST 2025