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Show ". aXZpK s ! ' " ; AVC? o tV'L A a, ,. ifiMlifH- - Fire fighters crouch in front of a ;V tff '" smoke-fille- Si Continued from Page 1 fellow victims, while the workers hurried on to see about other patients. Firefighters had to battle smoke and break through three walls made of cinder block, corrugated metal and sheet rock over plywood to rescue passengers trapped inside the plane's fuselage. The event was staged to provide training for emergency response teams from Weber County and Hill. The exercise scenario called for the simulated crash of a cargo trans20 people carried which port airplane, drums of on board and four a hazardous chemical. In normal practice the Air Force does not carry large amounts of hazardous chemicals on its aircraft, but the chemical spill was built into the exercise to provide broader 34-inc- h C-1- 55-gall- training. The casualties were volunteers mostly drama students with realistic make-ufrom nearby Bonneville High School. d w ,,,--- (Dr.) Steven "w f.:;,v , M. on-sce- .,, Photos by Gregg Wixom - V X . Hetrick, flight surgeon, checks an exercise casualty with head wound The complex emergency situation was designed to tax the communicative abilities of the responding units, said Brad Dee, Weber County director of Emergency Management and director of the exercise. "Communication is the key to any situation like this, with so many units involved, and each with its own network," Dee said. "I've been writing down things all morning that we can look back at and try to improve on." Still, Dee described the exercise response as almost flawless. It not only provided valuable training, but also built confidence among the participating agencies, he said. Col. Steven R. Emory, commander, 2849th Air Base Group and commander from Hill, echoed Dee's words. "This gives us a lot of confidence in the disaster response group out here," Emory said. Emory was one of three who quickly formed the unified command center, along with John Williams, Ogden City . , . .... in. Wv. Capt. 9 nil (mJsA. .,v.v, .j,-- store ready to go ... , v ' I Fire fighters scamper up a ladder. p r Hilltop Times ft n dfc - , jf VjCr-- May 28. 1992 fire chief, and incident commander Dave Allen, Washington Terrace fire chief. e attitude of the "The real local officials was impressive," Emory said. "There was never any question about who was in charge. The incident commander knew exactly what he had, and that allowed us to offer our full support right away." The experience allowed Hill emergency response workers a close look at the way they best match up with the county's emergency response group, Emory said. "If we ever have to do this for real, the team has already been formed and it will be the varsity responding," Emory said. Solid communication led to cooperation that enabled the separate units to become a single, effective force, Dee said. "The greatest thing in the world is to see that blue (Air Force) truck backed up to that white (Washington Terrace Fire Department) truck and take-charg- make-up- . watch the three commanders put their heads together to take care of the situation," Dee said. Of course, there were differences between the exercise and a real emergency. Near the end of the event, Carl Christensen of the Roy Fire Department walked into the middle of a group of accident victims and said.v "OK, how many here are dead?" Ten raised their hands. And in the street where emergency teams had set up two wash and scrub areas to cleanse people of hazardous materials, the victims showed the foresight to wear bathing suits. Nevertheless, the benefits of this exercise are real and will be measured in saved lives if a real emergency occurs in the future, Dee said. "A lot of manpower and time went into this," Dee said. "But if anything happens, we'll save a lot of lives. "You can't count on luck to save you all the time. You've got to be prepared," he said. |