GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - When it comes to public safety, it's a collaborative effort to make sure everyone is safe when crowds gather for large-scale events.
The next big event Green Bay is hosting is the Chicago Bears versus the Packers in their last regular season game, drawing in thousands of people. Officials say they're prepared to ensure everyone is safe.
"I think the first thought is just immediate sadness that the world has to experience something like this," said Green Bay Police Commander Kevin Warych.
The tragedy unfolding in New Orleans on the holiday is difficult for everyone, but it's also a grim reminder of the important role local authorities have in an emergency response.
"I can tell you the department is prepared and when you watch those videos and you see those officers running towards that danger, I can tell you with 100% certainty that every Green Bay Police Officer, every city employee here would do the same thing," said Commander Warych.
When it comes to public safety, local and federal agencies work together.
"The City of Green Bay has a great plan for dealing with situations but are there lessons learned? We will get an after-action, report, we will get more information and incorporate those into our plans moving forward," said Green Bay Metro Fire Chief Matthew Knott.
The city hosts several large-scale events every year including a handful of Green Bay Packers games, which bring thousands of visitors to the area. This weekend will be no different as security is a top priority.
Officials train several times throughout the year focused on preventive safety and emergency response. They often re-evaluate and have discussions to make sure they're prepared for all scenarios including vehicle attacks and explosives.
"We've trained for vehicle threats and vehicle born IEDs, we've trained for that for all events, and we look at whether it's a sporting event or parade, that is real life, unfortunately, information asas and we work with all our partners in this because it's a collaborative effort to make sure that's mitigated," said Commander Warych.
"Vehicles as a weapon is not necessarily a new concept and we plan for them and like I said we'll look at lessons from New Orleans and figure out how we can make our plans even better moving forward," said Fire Chief Knott.
Authorities don't release their full operational plans for safety and security, so they don't create a risk of someone using the information as a countermeasure. Officials rely on their consistent training and continuous improvement when they can learn from other departments and each other.
"We do this on an almost weekly basis and daily if needed, but these are things we go through all the time. We, talk about different tabletop scenarios, we talk about the what if, and it's based on our all-hazards plan or it's based on current events," said Fire Chief Knott.
"We're following the world just like everybody else is and learning and working with one another to make sure this event doesn't happen here in the city," said Commander Warych.
The city continues to be proactive in improving safety measures. Green Bay invested $400,000 in 2018 to add even more vehicle barriers.
The city deploys them wherever there are large crowds, including at Packers games, farmers' markets, celebrations like the Fourth of July, marathons, or other big races.