Landon McGuire and Jeff MacArthur, with the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department, assist emergency medical technician Bill Dahlke with removing a volunteer posing as a victim Monday afternoon during a drill at the Deseret Health and Rehab Center .
A car sits adjacent to a propane tank with two immobile occupants in the vehicle. White smoke billows from the sides. The alarm sounds and staff at the Deseret Health and Rehabilitation Center begins to evacuate. Sirens can be heard in the distance from responding firefighters and police officers.
None of it is real, though. It’s a drill.
The people in the car are city employees posing as injured residents. The smoke is dry ice and water. The residents inside Deseret Health and Rehabilitation Center are moved, but in no real danger.
Nevertheless, firefighters with the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department rush to the scene with two fire trucks.
Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator John Zeiger coordinated the simulation Monday.
“There is never a good time for a drill,” Zeiger said in a meeting prior to the simulation.
Zeiger said, as emergency management coordinator, he is required to set up these drills from time to time. This is the first he coordinated as emergency management coordinator.
Zeiger said he plans to conduct future drills in different parts of the county, but after working out the kinks with the first.
“I would rather make my mistakes with the players I know, so then I can improve from there,” he said.
Representatives from the Carbon County Fire Department, Rawlins Fire Department and Memorial Hospital of Carbon County are present at the drill. The representatives are evaluating as the volunteer fire department and emergency medical service move into position Monday.
As firefighters show up, they set up their trucks and begin to lay hose. Two firefighters in full gear and breathing apparatuses move closer to the vehicle and propane tank and begin to spray water at the scene. An EMS crew soon arrives at the scene to extract David Gonzales and Tiffany Oxford, who were posing as victims in the mock-up wreck.
Gonzales said he was surprised to how realistic the drill was.
Firefighters and the EMS crew placed Gonzales and Oxford onto gurneys, which were mounted into the ambulance. They take off.
“I was really surprised they took it that far,” Gonzales said. “I thought I was on my way to Rawlins.”
After the fictional scenario was confirmed under control, all participants were called in for a meeting where evaluators shared their notes.
The overall consensus among evaluators was the drill went well, with only minor notes on how to improve.
Hospital personnel, evaluators and firefighters who were in the drill discussed what could have been done better.
Carbon County Fire Warden John Rutherford pointed out some things like communication and techniques to control the area could have been done better, but also pointed out he liked the initial response.
Deseret Health and Rehabilitation Center personnel discussed how evacuating the facility could be more efficient.
“Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives,” said Rawlins Fire Department Fire Chief Scott Hannum. “The reason we drill is to find out our weaknesses.
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