Police, firefighters and paramedics all went into high gear after hearing reports of shots fired outside the Pottawattamie County jail Monday
The images from the attack on Iowa deputies are burned into the minds of area law enforcement.
For Council Bluffs Fire Chief Justin James, the call will forever be personal.
“On days like that, your training, your ability to resolve are tested for sure,” he said on Wednesday, reconstructing the day’s timeline of events.
Over the scanner, reports continued to come in as Council Bluffs fire vehicles dashed to the scene.
At first crews knew little Monday morning, except for the dispatch report:
“1400 Big Lake Road for a shooting. Officer down.”
Listening to the radio traffic on the law enforcement channel and our channel, James says, I had full confidence that whatever was there would get handle by my personnel.
Once in the jail, the fire department acted quickly to treat deputies Mark Burbridge and Pat Morgan.
According to James, personnel set up command, deploying resources as needed to help the deputies.
As more 911 calls came in for a shooting, carjacking and police chase spreading throughout the sister cities, the fire chief says his team focused on one thing: their jobs.
An overwhelming turn of events, he says, a tragedy really.
"It's a good feeling to have knowing that a bunch of people that have everything to lose are going to try and stop that threat has nothing to lose,” he says.
That mindset is something the community should be proud of, he says.
If one looks around Council Bluffs and surrounding cities lately, it appears the memo is clearly received as an overflow of memorials for Burbridge and support for the men and women in blue continue.
