Durham School Services provides buses for Meridian and Garden City police rescue training

Durham School Services provided a standard bus and a minibus to support a four-hour bus hostage rescue training for the Meridian and Garden City Police Department's Special Tactics Group, and a Durham trainer was on site to explain vehicle features.

Durham School Services provided two buses to support a bus hostage rescue training for the Meridian and Garden City Police Department's Special Tactics Group in Meridian, Idaho. The session focused on school bus layouts and challenges that can arise during vehicle-based and confined-space emergency scenarios. A Durham trainer attended to explain bus operation, structure, and components and to answer questions. Organizers reported the roughly four-hour training as a productive opportunity to refine tactics and enhance safety awareness. What happened: - Durham supplied a standard-sized school bus and a minibus/van for the training exercise. - The Meridian and Garden City Police Department's Special Tactics Group ran a bus hostage rescue drill that examined vehicle-based and confined-space challenges. - A Durham trainer was on site to provide technical insight into bus operation, structure, and components and to respond to questions. - The training session lasted approximately four hours and was described as yielding valuable takeaways for participating officers. - Durham began serving the Meridian community in 2024 and has supported local events through its Partners Beyond the Bus outreach program, including transportation for regional Special Olympics athletes and event sponsorships. Summary: The exercises gave the tactics group hands-on familiarity with school-bus environments and helped officers refine procedures aimed at protecting students and staff during emergency incidents. Officials expressed appreciation for the realistic training environment and the opportunity to continue community partnerships. Undetermined at this time.