In the event of a disaster, whether it’s a mass shooting or a natural disaster, agencies must be ready to address the needs of victims and their families. On Monday, city and county agencies prepared for just that.

Annapolis’ Office of Emergency Management coordinated a training session with several area agencies to be better prepared when dealing with families of victims.

Kevin Simmons, Annapolis’ emergency management director, said his department has been conducting extensive training with local police departments for active shooters since 2016 and the reunification training is the evolution of that process.

“In a lot of instances we could be dealing with people on their very worst day,” Simmons said. “It is important for us to be professional and compassionate when dealing with grieving loved ones.”

It was at a session like this several years ago that Capital Gazette reporter Wendi Winters learned the “Run, Hide or Fight” training. During the June 28, 2018, attack on the Annapolis news organization, Winters charged the assailant holding a trash can and recycling bin. She yelled and distracted the gunman, survivors said. That action was credited with saving the lives of six employees.

Five people died in that attack: editor Rob Hiaasen, editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, editor and sports writer John McNamara, sales assistant Rebecca Smith and Winters, a prolific feature writer and community volunteer.

Several agencies participated in Monday’s training: Anne Arundel County and City of Annapolis fire and police departments, the county social services department and the Anne Arundel County mobile crisis unit.

In the event of a disaster, the emergency management department would be responsible for setting up a family information center at Maryland Hall. The center would be a secure facility that provides information about the injured, missing, unaccounted for and the deceased. It would provide any initial services for the victims, family members and any designated points of contact. The center also would help displaced survivors, including children, reestablish contact or be reunited with family and friends. It would not be open to the general public or members of the news media.

“And while this particular training is a response to an active shooter, there are a multitude of emergency disasters that could activate a family information center like this one,” said Simmons.

While Maryland Hall has been designated for use in the event of an emergency, both the Pip Moyer Recreation Center and Anne Arundel Community College also can be used, Simmons said.

Throughout the training, about 30 volunteers acted as victims’ family members to help response personnel understand what they could deal with.

Volunteer Krista Wallach, a county resident and member of a volunteer fire department, said she was proud to help support the training,

“With the fire department I’m considered a life-saving educator,” she said. “I just make myself available to help calm people down and direct them in intense moments. The more information you have and more practice with others the better we can all be. The better we are at our jobs the better the community will be taken care of.”

Buckland understanding what it takes to support us through policy is great,” he said. “It is very helpful to our ultimate goal and we appreciate her.””

Training sessions like this show the full community trying to combat and deal with the harsh reality that comes with traumatic events like active shooters.

“Everybody thinks that after we get the shooter that everything is all good and they walk away,” Simmons said. “But that’s only the beginning for those who experienced the event in person or through their loved ones.”