Last week members of the Bullhead City Fire Department have been participating in training drills regarding mass causality incidents. “We just saw in the Phoenix area a dump truck run into a group of motorcycles; we need to be prepared for the worst,” said Emergency Medical Services Division Chief Steve Duncan.
Chief Duncan and Training Division Chief Bill Kinsey composed a lecture and PowerPoint presentation regarding training for mass causality incidents. Then it was time for a scenario with hands on training. “Getting the guys to go through what we just explained to them is a great way to reinforce the message and procedures,” say Chief Kinsey.
The mass causality refresher curriculum is conducted each year about this same time for the department as they prepares for the Laughlin River Run.
The training included reinforcing the new mass causality identification cards and having the fire fighters walk through the mass causality trailer. “Some of the new firefighters haven’t been through the trailer”, says Duncan. “The trailer is equipped with backboards, an oxygen tree system for ten patients, cases of bandages of all sizes, blankets, cervical collars, and head beds. Also included are logistic supplies such as cones, tarps, flashlights, and litters for moving patients on a large scale emergency.”
The scenario was a bar fight with shots fired. Our fire station bay (where the fire trucks and ambulances park) was utilized as the scene of the incident. As the bar fight unfolded, fourteen people lay injured at the scene. Traffic cones were used as the mock patients. Attached to each cone was a description of the patient, type of injury sustained and the vitals. The fire fighters would enter the mock scene and start the triage system. They found ten patients requiring immediate transport, two patients requiring minor transport, one patient for delayed transport and one patient deceased.
“The cones aren’t the perfect patient, but it helps learn the system. They had to move each cone out of the bay and into the treatment and transport area,” said Chief Kinsey. “I feel confident our crews are ready for any mass causality emergency.”
Photo courtesy of the Bullhead City Fire Department
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