TRAINING DAY IN WELLINGTON

Wellington – Bells rang out at the Wellington Fire District Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. but the bells weren’t fire bells, they were school bells. The students weren’t kids, rather Firefighters and Paramedics.

Wellington Fire District conducted their monthly training session Wednesday night at their Kelly Street Station, and the topic was Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI). In addition to Wellington Fire personnel, members of the South Lorain County Ambulance District and the Rochester Fire Department participated.

The scene was a multi-vehicle crash located in Brighton Township with multiple victims. Crews were dispatched as if they would be to a true call. As rescuers arrived they were told to role-play their actions, treating the accident scene as real. As the fire and EMS crews arrived, they quickly determined the need for multiple resources from neighboring communities.

Creators of the drill laid out 11 victims for the Firefighters and Paramedics to triage, treat and transport. When a rescuer approached a victim they found a card attached to them with their symptoms and injuries.

During the session evaluators were strategically placed to evaluate certain performance standards, such as use of the Incident Command System, EMS Operations, triage, and most importantly, communications.

Sheffield Village Fire Chief Jeff Young, Columbia Township Fire Chief Ray Anthony, Litchfield Fire Chief Joyce Teodecki, Medical Director Kim Bowen, Med Flight Medic Bill Huffman, and Wellington Chief Bob Walker evaluated all aspects of the operation. Following the drill, a critique of the crew’s actions took place, directed by the evaluators.

Lieutenant Bill Brown of the Wellington Fire District said that in the end the drill was a success. “We were able to learn a lot from the drill. One of the problems we had was communications with the radios we had, but as far as patient care and scene command everything went well.”