If a terrorist attack struck Sevier County, the emergency services personnel who protect us want to be ready.
To that end, Leadership Sevier and the combined police, fire, and emergency services from municipalities and county resources met Wednesday morning June 16 at Sevier County High School’s football field to practice maneuvers for a terrorist attack scenario.
The goal was to foster future training combined with better cooperation between the different agencies.
The scenario included hostage negotiations, sniper operations, K-9 searches of suspicious vehicles and articles, a takedown by a K-9 unit of an escaping suspect, an assault on a suspicious vehicle by a special weapons unit, bomb detection and disposal practice, decontamination procedures, and evacuation and medical treatment for simulated victims.
John A Sterling, Coordinator of the East Tennessee regional office of the Department of Homeland Security was on hand to observe the exercise.
“We’re here to watch and learn,” Sterling told The Herald. “We’re trying to promote the spirit of cooperation, and we’re watching to see how the various law enforcement and response entities work together.”
“These exercises tend to point up our shortcomings and show us where we need to improve.”
Training for some of the personnel present was another reason for the exercise.
“This is the beginning of some new training,” said Steve Layman, of Leadership Sevier. “The Sheriff’s Department has a new interagency bomb detection and disposal team that’s coming into play now.”
“We’ll be working together more and more on our responses throughout the county,” Layman said.
Present for the event were Gatlinburg Fire and Rescue units, Pigeon Forge Fire Department, Sevierville Fire Department, The Sevier County Sheriff’s Department, including the Meth Lab Response Team, the Sevierville Police Department, including K-9 units, Pigeon Forge Police Department, including the tactical rescue unit, Gatlinburg Police Department, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations explosive ordnance disposal remote control unit.

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