Austin first responders provide life-saving training if there is mass shooting
AUSTIN, Texas - First responders in Austin are providing lifesaving training to hundreds of bar staff and bar goers in the LGBTQ community.
The program "Stop the Bleed" teaches citizens how to provide medical aid in the case of a mass shooting.
"In this we are trying to empower civilians in these first few minutes, while first responders are responding to turn them into basically immediate responders," said Austin Fire Department fire specialist Kevin Carollo.
Stop the Bleed is a joint training session with first responders from the Austin Police Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department.
In the past two years, there have been 21 classes held and nearly 800 students taught.
"This class is designed for everyone, but we have aggressively reached out to communities experiencing increased violence, such as the LGBTQ community here in Austin," says Carollo.
"We are very adaptable to any class venue. Our training does not need audiovisual, we have taught at dance studios, we have taught at churches, we have taught at community centers, we are currently teaching in rain and that was what our goal was, to make this scalable in any space," says Austin Travis County EMS Captain Shannon Koesterer.
Those in attendance were given hands-on training, a step-by-step guide, and kits valued at more than $200 to aid in responding to emergencies before first responders arrive.
"Specifically in bleeding emergencies and in the case of a giant blood vessel getting hit, you can bleed out in as little as 30 seconds to a minute," says Carollo.
According to gunviolencearchive.org, there were 656 mass shootings in the United States in 2023.
"Whether it happens to be something that is on a Friday or Saturday night between two individuals in the downtown area, or heaven forbid, we have something here in Austin which we have had obviously at the bar in Colorado or when we ended up having the Pulse Night Club shooting," says Austin Police Department Sgt. Michael Wilmore-Crumrine.
The program started five years ago nationally. Overall, more than three million people have participated in the proactive training.
"What we have seen so far is really great feedback from a lot of the bar staff. They feel a little bit more confident that, should something happen, God forbid, that is the last thing we ever want, but if it does, they feel confident in their skills and their ability," says Sgt. Wilmore-Crumrine.
The training held by the Lesbian and Gay Peace Officers Association is free to the public.