The Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department put on its much anticipated emergency response practice at the El Dorado Mobile Home club house, Saturday. Fireman Patrick Maynard was largely responsible for organizing the event, with many others assisting. The story will be posted next week where full credit will be given to the many who participated in the important event. The exercise focused on a triage system for quickly determining the extent of injuries. All "victims" in this exercise received colored cards which indicated "minor" injury, injuries which could wait - "delayed",severe injuries requiring "immediate" care, and any person "deceased." A "smoke" machine provided a realistic setting for a catastrophic event and students played rolls of victims with various injuries. The whole exercise was a great success.

On Saturday July 18, the City of Fillmore Fire Department hosted a simulated mass causality incident at the El Dorado Mobile Park. The goal of this event was to provide members of the El Dorado Block Captain Program the opportunity to practice basic first aid and triage skills they learned about during a previous weeks training.

The training scenario included a magnitude 7.0 earthquake triggering the collapse of the community clubhouse located within the mobile home park. Approximately 25 victims were placed inside the clubhouse tangled amongst various obstacles and debris. To add to the realism the windows of the building were blacked out, the lights in the building shut off and theatrical smoke added to the area – all to simulate post-earthquake conditions.

Upon being dispatched to the scene, approximately 24 CERT trained block captains triaged and tagged all 24 victims within the collapsed structure. Triaged victims were transported to a staging location setup outside the clubhouse where they received basic first aid. Block Captains were able to put their recently obtained skills to work by applying various types of dressings and bandages to injured victims. At the end of the drill, 24 victims were triaged, transported and treated - all within a one-hour time period.

One of the invaluable assets brought by training of this nature is the ability for participants to experience “sensory overload” - commonly associated with events of this nature. “Overwhelming your brain with screaming voices, flashing lights and poor visibility is only a small taste of the distractions that may be present during a disaster. Experiencing these things ahead of time is paramount to building a mindset capable of dealing with stressful times both safely and efficiently” said Patrick Maynard, Disaster Coordinator for the City of Fillmore Fire Department.

Chief Rigo Landeros was “Pleased to see El Dorado resident’s interest in disaster preparedness in particular mass casualty incidents. Their knowledgeable contribution to post-disaster situations is both vital to the community as a whole and the City of Fillmore Fire Department. “

Special thanks to Captain Al Huerta of the Fillmore Fire Department, Paramedic Steven Karnazes of Mercy Air Helicopter Service, Sespe 4-H & all of the volunteers who participated as victims. Without you this drill would not have been as successful as it was!