First responders put to test in regional drill

First responders from Franklin, Adams and Jefferson counties took part in a multi-jurisdictional, full-scale emergency response exercise on Thursday, Dec. 16 to test their individual and team capabilities in dealing with a disaster situation.

Franklin County Homeland Security-Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Thornton said the drill initially involved a law enforcement traffic stop of a stolen vehicle with drugs and weapons inside.

The event grew in scope as three vehicles were involved in a mock accident involving a mini-van, passenger car and a bus carrying school-age children.

Adults and teens took on the roles as “victims” in the scenario — all who had sustained various potentially life-threatening injuries at the staged wreck scene.

Meanwhile, an adult man and child involved in the exercise could not speak English and responders were challenged to find ways in an already tense situation to communicate with him.

“The effort is to make these situations as real as possible to tax every aspect of emergency response and see how everyone involved responds,” Thornton said afterwards.

“There’s a lot more than just swooping in and getting hip deep in some kind of response ... there’s coordination between responding agencies and the personal safety of every responder trying to answer the call for help.”

The potential real-world drama played out just off U.S. Highway 84 in Franklin County’s Leesdale community mere yards from the Adams County line.

Drill participants have no prior knowledge about particular elements of the exercise scenario — only that an disaster exercise is planned for a particular day.

“Not knowing too many specific details and facing a situation for the first time are key to getting a more real-time, unscripted response,” Thornton said.

Local agencies taking part in the drill were the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Rural Rapid Response ambulance service and the Franklin County Volunteer Fire Departments along with responders from Adams and Jefferson counties.

“These kinds of exercises are important to familiarize agencies with their strengths and weaknesses — especially in working together toward a common goal,” Thornton said.

“No matter how many times you do these kinds of things, participants always learn something that can help them become better first responders — either in how they respond or in thinking about their own safety. That’s the whole reason we do these kinds of things.”

Following the exercise, participants met in Adams County to review the event during what is often referred to as a “hot wash” where actions and the overall response are critiqued by independent evaluators.

“It not about ‘gotcha’ moments during these kinds of training events,” Thornton added. “The end goal is to get responders — no matter who they represent or where they come from — to think and rely on their training by pushing through the emotions of the situation.

“Like every one of these, there were some good things and there were some things that needed to be addressed. That’s how you grow as an emergency responder because you never stop learning.”

Thornton said Franklin County was happy to have the opportunity to take part in the drill with its two neighboring counties, and said there are plans to continue hosting these kinds of exercises twice annually on a rotating basis between jurisdictions.

The next scheduled exercise will be held in the spring in Adams County.