Before the doors were set to open and the daily hustle of shoppers was to commence, the Opry Mills Mall was the backdrop for a different kind of choreography yesterday. In a pre-dawn effort to fine-tune emergency readiness, the Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management (OEM) spearheaded a joint public safety exercise, as reported by the Nashville.gov website. Beginning at the unheard hour for shopping, 6:00 a.m., various agencies worked through active shooter and critical incident scenarios intended to foster a seamless synergy among the first responders.
Those who happened upon the area were likely to note an uptick in the presence of emergency vehicles and personnel. The list of participants spanned across the emergency response spectrum: Nashville Fire Department, Metro Nashville Police Department, and Tennessee Highway Patrol, among others, were present. Also in the mix were staff and security personnel from Simon Properties, as well as additional city, state, and federal allies. These exercises, conducted in the shadows of closed stores and still escalators, aim to buttress the response capabilities that we often take for granted until the moment of crisis.
It was a morning where the clamor of silence was met with the unyielding sound of preparation. This concerted effort, one of many in a series of ongoing exercises, did not disrupt the mall's operations, since it was completed before normal business hours. A statement from the operation's leadership outlined the operation's dual goals of ensuring operational readiness and encouraging robust communication channels between the partnering entities.
Meanwhile, access to the mall was tightly controlled, with secured checkpoints ensuring that only authorized individuals could enter during the exercise. Simon Malls and the Metro Nashville OEM were clear on the no-media policy during the event. However, they welcomed queries via email from news outlets seeking details before or after the drill. Post-exercise information, once available, promised to shed light on the effectiveness of the strategies tested and the lessons learned.
