Only On ABC7 News: Napa College undergoes active shooter drill

By Laura Anthony Thursday, January 11, 2018 NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- Officers with guns drawn, scramble through a community college library shouting "Shots Fired! Shots Fired!" It's a realistic training scenario that mimics real-world events likely the deadly school shooting at Columbine High School nearly twenty years ago. "Columbine was the pivot point for law enforcement," said John Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco FBI. RELATED: False report of active shooter prompts flight delays at LAX Bennett is leading this drill at Napa Valley College, specifically designed for an active shooter scenario inside a school library.

   

 @LauraAnthony7 #OnlyOn7 An inside look at special training to prepare officers from small Bay Area police agencies for potential active shooter incident. 5:04 PM - Jan 11, 2018 "We provide realistic training," explained Bennett. "A place like this they have to work through issues where there's something in their way, or they can't see clearly." At Columbine, a school resource officer did initially confront the two shooters but then retreated to wait for a SWAT team. RELATED: Tense active shooter situation captured in Oakland PD communications At the Napa training, local police don't wait for a SWAT team or the FBI. They go in immediately and if necessary, put themselves between the shooter and potential victims. "They have to go stop the killing. They may have to go by themselves," said FBI Trainer Ken Karch. "The difference is with an active shooter, you don't have that time. The average of these is about 3 to 5 minutes. In Sandy Hook, every 11.5 seconds, somebody was killed." The Napa College participants are from local agencies, including Calistoga, Vacaville, and Napa. "Where my odds of it happening are still pretty low, I can't play the odds," said Napa Valley College Chief of Police Ken Arnold. "I've got to have people who know what to do." Click here for more stories on active shooter situations.

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Restaurant fire prompts downtown Walnut Creek street closures

Restaurant fire prompts downtown Walnut Creek street closures

Sauced BBQ & Spirits on Locust Street forced to evacuate after single-alarm fire Saturday evening

By ROBERT SALONGA | rsalonga@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: April 14, 2018 at 7:24 pm | UPDATED: April 14, 2018 at 7:57 pm

WALNUT CREEK — A barbecue restaurant in downtown Walnut Creek tasted the wrong kind of smokiness Saturday evening when a fire forced an evacuation of staff and patrons, authorities said.

Crews from the Contra Costa Fire Protection District were called at 6:10 p.m. to Sauced BBQ & Spirits, on Locust Street between Bonanza and Cypress streets, for reports of heavy smoke emanating from the two-story building, fire Capt. Steve Aubert said.

All of the restaurant’s occupants were able to evacuate safely, and the fire was brought under control within 20 minutes, Aubert said. The fire made its way through both the first and second story, the latter of which houses offices, but an origin and cause were still under investigation.

There were no reported injuries to either patrons, staff, or firefighters, Aubert said.

Walnut Creek police sent out an alert around 6:45 p.m. telling motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area while fire crews and personnel tend to the fire site. Police announced about 30 minutes later that roads were re-opened.

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