Disaster Training
FEATURES
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Ever since the January 13, 1981 Air Florida plane crash and concurrent subway accident in the Washington, D.C. area, the local fire and rescue departments have become alert to the possibility of other disasters that could cause mass casualties. Nowhere is the potential for this greater than in Fairfax County, VA.
Fairfax County is the largest of the three Washington, D.C. western suburbs, with a population of 650,000 and an area of 400 square miles. This region, once just a collection of large farms and estates, has experienced explosive growth in the past 20 years in both residential and commercial/industrial aspects. Along with this tremendous growth, however, comes the potential for hazardous situations.
The intersection of Interstates 66 and 495 sees 20,000 tons of hazardous materials per day. Nearly all industrial material transported by rail from the northeast to the southeast travels through Fairfax County. A major highway route that passes through Fairfax County is the thoroughfare for thousands of vehicles per hour traveling from north to south. Many of these are trucks that contain large amounts of hazardous materials.
After recognizing this potential for disaster and studying the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the Air Florida and subway crashes, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department took action. They mandated that each shift of the department’s six battalions conduct at least one mass casualty drill per year. Preparations for these drills began in late 1982 under Assistant Chief Glenn Gaines and Battalion Chief Roger Keys. They enlisted the services of volunteer paramedic Craig DeAtley, a physician’s assistant, to compile procedures for triage and mass casualty management. A series of training classes was instituted and these new procedures were introduced to all fire and rescue department personnel. As Battalion Chief Keys says, “The idea of all this is to train our personnel to leave the disaster at the disaster site, not bring it to the hospitals.”
The first full-scale drill, in June 1983, simulated a natural gas explosion in a halfway house for teenage drug users. To this date 14 battalion-wide drills have been staged.
A crucial aspect of these drills is that they are not considered as tests for the involved personnel, but as research tools for modifying existing procedures and developing new ones. It is also important that the involved personnel do not know the scenario of the drill, only the date and approximate time for planning purposes. An ultimate goal is to produce a mass casualty/ disaster manual to be used as a reference source for real disasters. Another goal is to produce videotapes for training and review purposes in the future.
THE WOLF TRAP DRILL
One of the most unique drills was recently held at the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts. Wolf Trap is a large, open-air covered amphitheater/stage that is used as the summer home for the National Symphony Orchestra and top-name performing artists and groups. (See “Wolf Trap Reopens,” FIRE ENGINEERING, May 1985.)
In addition to the main theater, there is a “theater-in-the-woods” that is used for some concerts and children’s programs. The drill was planned using this smaller theater as the site of the disaster.
Access to this smaller arena is provided by a wide footpath into the woods, approximately 1/2-mile long. It is not paved. The theater itself has an open design with a small wood stage and dressing room area with audience bench seating for 200 people. The seating area is not covered and is surrounded on all sides by trees, creating an isolated atmosphere.
The volunteer audience was a group of teenagers who were attending a rock concert at the theater. Simulated scaffolding supporting large speakers collapsed into the audience causing numerous “injuries” and actually pinning some of the “victims” underneath the speakers and scaffolding. To add realism, authentic painter’s scaffolding was used and simulated speakers were built. One unexpected condition was the rain that fell the night before, leaving the ground soft and muddy. This eliminated even the thought of any normal apparatus access.
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Photo courtesy of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department
Initial dispatch brought the normal response of three engines, one truck, one heavy rescue squad, one ambulance, and one battalion chief. Two mobile intensive care units from nearby hospitals were also sent to the scene, as they normally would be if information received from the caller warranted it.
Access to the footpath is from a large parking lot behind the stage of the main theater. The first-arriving engine, truck, and ambulance took this position. The engine officer instructed all other units to stage in a secondary parking area across from the front of the main theater. This eliminated any confusion in the initial stages of the operation.
The first-arriving engine lieutenant, his crew of three, and the ambulance crew of two made the long trek down the footpath to the theater. A horrifying site greeted them as they came through the clearing: people with simulated injuries everywhere, moaning and screaming for help.
After the initial shock, operations proceeded quite smoothly. The lieutenant established an initial command post at the disaster site and directed his crew in initial triage operations while calling for the truck company to proceed into the woods with hand tools, rope, and backboards. The main command post was established in the rear parking lot by the arriving battalion chief. One of the unique aspects of this particular exercise was that it was the first drill in which the incident commander could not physically see the incident. This further emphasized the importance of thorough reports from the theater site.
Results
A total of 13 “wounded” persons with simulated injuries ranging from fatal to minor cuts were removed from the site to the main triage area and transported to hospitals within 90 minutes. This operation came off so smoothly because the following procedures were implemented:
- Only essential personnel were
- called to the disaster site, eliminating confusion.
- The initial command post was established immediately. This acted as the incident commander’s eyes and ears of the disaster site.
- The incident commander designated essential command staff early in the operation, i.e., medical operations director, staging officer, disposition officer, and communications officer.
- The main triage area and disposition area were well organized, allowing smooth “patient” flow once the “victims” were brought out of the woods.
- Four-wheel drive vehicles owned by the Park were immediately pressed into service for “victim” removal to the main triage area.
- The heavy rescue squad was utilized as a bus to transport several persons with minor “injuries,” eliminating the wait for additional ambulances.
These and other positive points, as well as suggestions for improvement, are discussed in the post incident analysis usually held five days after the drill. Each unit officer is asked to conduct a formal evaluation session with his own crew and be prepared to make a short presentation. The formal evaluators then need to say very little because most of the positive and negative points are self-addressed by the unit officers. To make the experience even more valuable, the incident commander, as well as one or two unit officers, become part of the evaluation team for the next drill.
IN THE FUTURE
What’s in the future for these drills in Fairfax County? As Assistant Chief Gaines sees it, “We’re going to move ahead and design the drill program in 1985 to encompass broader topics that build on the knowledge and experience gained from the drills already conducted.”
Some of the drills for 1985 include a subway accident, a full-scale high-rise fire situation, and a hostage situation involving the takeover of a police station. Other agencies will be asked to participate as they would in a real situation.
Another objective of future drills is to develop the skills of the fire officers so that they can assume medical command staff positions, such as the medical operations director or the disposition officer. Presently, all medical command staff positions are filled by paramedics and cardiac care technicians. This prevents them from using their skills to help the patients.
The several multiple casualty and major incidents that have occurred since the program began were all handled in textbook fashion with the involved units functioning as if it were just another drill.
This program is helping to make fire service personnel aware that these potentially disastrous situations can really occur. As a result, there has been a noticeable improvement in the overall day-today service of the department.
