First responders practice timing, treatment in mass casualty exercise with school bus
First responders pulled three students in critical condition and a deceased bus driver from a flipped school bus and put them on stretchers to be carried to nearby ambulances.
Three other students were treated for mild injuries as their parents stood near the scene.
Fortunately, this scenario was carried out by volunteers as part of the mass casualty training exercise held in Lexington last Saturday. The multi-vehicle collision involving a school bus was intended to show the community and school system that first responders are prepared for such emergencies.
It took about an hour less than the planned two hours due to a last-minute student volunteer shortage, but was deemed a success and proved beneficial to the EMA and emergency personnel.
“It went well,” said Douglas Spencer, EMA administrator for the county. “These things always happen faster than I think they will.”
The EMA will take the feedback from this exercise into account and start planning the next exercise in July.
This simulation, which was held at the Oglethorpe County Student Transportation Center, adjacent to Oglethorpe County Elementary School, portrayed a county school bus that had flipped due to a collision after a sporting event.
Parents of the players and a second school bus followed the first bus. Three of the six students were already off the bus and laying to the side when the exercise started.
The other three students and the bus driver were pulled from the bus after the first responders showed up at the scene.
The first call for help was called at approximately 10:15 a.m., and the first EMTs arrived at the scene at approximately 10:22 a.m. Volunteers and full-time responders from Oglethorpe EMS, the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, several fire departments and representatives from the school system arrived at the scene.
The volunteers who showed up allowed for a mostly seamless exercise because there were two smaller exercises conducted in preparation for the larger one on Saturday.
“All of these guys are putting in their time,” Spencer said. “Not just today, but on the other two pieces that led up to this.”
All victims had an identification card that described their injuries. The three students inside of the bus required critical help and transportation while the other students outside of the bus were less severely injured.
The bus driver was dead.
The exercise was supposed to involve volunteers from Oglethorpe County High School’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) program, but the students had an SAT exam planned at that time.
Instead, six other kids volunteered to help with the exercise.
Parents of the victims helped the simulation create a realistic atmosphere involving chaos.
After the exercise, first responders and volunteers provided feedback to the EMA.
While most thought the exercise went well, some commented about a lack of communication. Some agencies were supposedly given instructions that others didn’t receive, which led to confusion.
Although first responders welcomed the chaotic nature of the exercise because it simulated a real emergency situation, some felt that more communication and preparation could’ve eliminated unnecessary chaos. Many first responders shared feedback that too many agencies showed up to the scene.
“There’s a little congestion with all the fire trucks,” said Ed Frey, a captain at the Wolfskin Volunteer Fire Department. “When there’s no fire, they don’t need to be right up on top.”
The county’s emergency management agency simulates various exercises throughout the year in order to show the community they are prepared for emergency situations. This exercise, in particular, was mainly intended to provide reassurance to the school system and Superintendent Beverley Levine.
The goal was to be able “to make sure that the superintendent could tell the parents if this happens, we’re going to be OK,” Spencer said.