Over 50 first responders tackle mock disaster

Screams could be heard coming from a field in west Lethbridge filled with two damaged cars, a crushed bus, and a plane with no wings.  Fortunately those screams were coming from 15 actors, portraying injured members of the public in a mock disaster. Local and regional first responders were put to the test in a joint emergency response exercise.

“Unless somebody took the time and effort to create this exercise we wouldn’t get those chances on day-to-day incidents to collaborate with other agencies,” Lethbridge Fire Department Deputy Chief Roy Pollmuller said. “Cooperating with all the other agencies is probably our strongest outcome from this exercise.”

Over 20 agencies, and more than 50 first responders worked together at the mock disaster, putting out fires, surveying the scene, and tending to the “injured” public. Though it was just an exercise, those involved still accomplished what they wanted to.

“We have some critical benchmarks that are important,” Pollmuller said. “One of them was that the most critically injured patients from the time we received the call were transported into ambulances and headed to the hospital within 21 minutes.”

In the scenario, a commuter plane crashed in west Lethbridge, and while that’s unlikely, situations like it are possible. And when a mass disaster hits, first responders know they need to be calm and controlled.

“Often times the most effective response is a measured contained response to ensure everybody’s safety,” Lethbridge Police Service Traffic Unit Sergeant Wade Davidson said. “Then we can get the victims out, it’s appropriate in this type of circumstance.”

The disaster site will undergo forensic examination Wednesday, then other agencies will descend on the site for another mock disaster Thursday.