CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) -- Fifty managers with Chattanooga's Parks and Recreation Department are learning what to do if a gunman opens fire on city-run facilities.
"We know we have thousands of people that visit our centers every single year, and we just want to make sure that the community knows, no matter where these centers are, they are safe," says Brian Smith, with Chattanooga Parks and Recreation.
He says recent shootings make him want the workers at all 17 community centers, along with the fitness center and aquatic center, to be prepared. The department has teamed up with the Chattanooga Police Department for active shooter training.
"As we have seen in the recent news across the nation, even the most horrible tragedies can happen in even the quietest of neighborhoods," says Smith.
He says policies and procedures are already in place when it comes to guns, but taking those plans off the shelf for training is key.
"Really, it's a safety measure here, to try to eliminate any sort of casualties, any sort of problems as quickly as possible."
Smith says knowing how to respond in a crisis and working with police can be the difference in making it out alive.
"The most important thing here is to make sure that those that are using our facility both inside and out are safe as possible if, and hopefully this never happens, but if something were to happen like this in the City of Chattanooga," says Smith.
The 50 full time managers will take what they have learned and pass it on to other parks and recreation staff members.
Smith says they also plan on holding drills sometime in the future.
