news@TimesRecord.Com
10/15/2007
By Laurie Doran, Times Record Contributor
RICHMOND — Sagadahoc County and local rescue workers spent a sunny Saturday
practicing for an event that they hope never happens.
To comply with the National Incident Management Systems protocol established in
response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, first responders must conduct
drills to test processes, protocols and procedures that they would use in
response to a mass disaster. The local emergency units are informed that they
will participate in a drill, but specific details of the scenario are not
revealed.
On Saturday, emergency units from Sagadahoc County, Richmond, Bowdoinham,
Lisbon, Bath and Woolwich fire departments, Mid-Coast Haz-Mat team, Topsham
Emergency Medical Services and North East Ambulance service participated in a
drill that closed Route 138 here for part of the day.
"We do these exercises to determine what works and what we need to fix," said
Misty Green, director of emergency management for Sagadahoc County.
Jeff Temple coordinated the drill with a team that involves a representative
from each of the emergency rescue departments — EMS, fire, and law enforcement.
Those representatives were on hand at the scenario to evaluate how the incident
was handled.
At 9:01 a.m. Saturday, the Sagadahoc County dispatch center received a call that
two suspicious vehicles had crashed through a gate on John Tarr Road off Route
201 in Bowdoin. Sagadahoc deputies and Richmond police were dispatched to the
area.
At 9:08 a.m., the dispatch center received another 9-1-1 call, this one
reporting that a pickup truck traveling at a high speed crashed into another
vehicle in a lot near Route 138 in Richmond.
Greg Siegel from the Sagadahoc Sheriff's Office was the first to arrive at the
scene of the high speed crash. The truck was on fire and approximately 15 Boy
Scouts were screaming for help as they lay on the ground injured at the site.
Siegel also noticed packages of potentially hazardous material on the ground
near the crashed car.
Siegel then contacted the fire department. Jack Samson, Bowdoin fire chief and
incident commander, arrived on the scene and assessed the situation. A mobile
dispatch center was set up and calls were immediately made to emergency fire
departments in Richmond, Bowdoinham, Lisbon, Bath and Woolwich. The Mid-Coast
Haz-Mat team, Topsham EMS, and North East Ambulance service also were called.
First responders on the scene determined that the truck contained explosives and
the packages beside the car were radioactive. Police secured the area and only
authorized personnel were allowed to enter.
The Maine Department of Transportation closed the road for public safety, and
rescue teams prepared to evacuate people within a half-mile radius.
The emergency departments worked together in the rescue. Police secured the
area. Firemen wearing protective gear, including gas masks, removed the victims
to a safe area. Emergency medical staff treated critically injured victims
first, and then treated all other victims for cuts, bruises, and broken bones.
The victims and firefighters who rescued them were decontaminated for
radioactive material by the Haz-Mat team.
Seven patients — one critically injured — were sent to Mid Coast Hospital in
Brunswick to be treated. Another six patients — one critically injured — were
sent to Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick.
Police quickly ascertained that the two 911 incidents were related. The
hazardous material was revealed as radioisotopes — 10 packages of iodine-125,
five packages of Gallium 67, five packages of Xenon 133 and five packages of
Thallium 201 that were on their way to being delivered to Maine Medical Center
and Mercy Hospital in Portland. Although explosives were in the back of the
truck, the communication center never heard anyone indicate a bomb threat.
Chain of command
In this drill, the incident commander was in charge of the entire rescue
operation. Reporting directly to the incident commander was the operations
commander who was in contact with the fire department manager, emergency medical
services manager, law enforcement manager and Haz-Mat manager. Each of those
department managers directed their staff.
In the midst of this exercise, rescue workers were prepared to respond to
unrelated emergencies. One ambulance left the site to a rescue.
Salvation Army volunteers were on hand providing water, coffee, and food to
rescue workers.
Fifteen Boy Scouts from Troop 21 of Bath participated in the emergency rescue
drill to play the roles of injured patients.
"It helps the Boy Scouts see first aid in action," said Michael Barone,
Scoutmaster of Bath Troop 21. "For the Boy Scouts to earn a merit badge, they
are required to take part in an emergency drill. If they should come upon a
scene, they would know how to react."
At a debriefing after the drill, all agreed that clear communication is vital
and that portables radios work properly and that frequency channels are clearly
identified. Several members of the rescue team resorted to using their cell
phones as backup communication. When several rescue departments work together
plain English is used, and not codes.
Temple called Saturday's exercise a complicated scenario that stressed the local
resources. In this drill, one person at the communications center handled the
calls regarding the drill. In a real-life situation, more dispatchers would have
been involved.
He also raised the issue of safety. In a case involving hazardous material, are
firefighters sent in to remove victims to a safe area and thereby become
contaminated? Or does the hazardous materials unit go in first, and in that time
lapse victims may die? What is right? What is ethical?
Temple raised those questions and ended by saying that every situation is
different. He told the rescue staff that this drill better prepares everyone for
an accident involving hazardous material.
He then informed everyone that because the Maine Yankee atomic power plant has
closed in the near future hazardous waste will be transported to other areas in
vehicles that would be traveling periodically through the area.
As a result of this drill, each rescue department will add their recommendations
to handle emergency situations more efficiently.