By Scott Bandle
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 3:23 PM CDT
About 12 people ran out the door when the fire truck arrived, sirens blaring.
"Help! The second and third floors have collapsed!" they shouted, pointing to the empty store at Jamestown Mall. "People are injured!"
And so began a training exercise to give North County's emergency
personnel a chance to practice how they would respond to a mass casualty incident. Seven North County fire departments and districts, Christian Hospital and the St. Louis County Police took part in the drill Thursday in the vacant Dillard's store at Jamestown Mall.The drill was for firefighters, police officers and paramedics to test their abilities to communicate and work within the National Incident Management System. The system, mandated by President George W. Bush, was established after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001."We wanted to really test the firefighters," Black Jack Battalion Chief Dennis Hohl said. "Rather than have just a tornado or a fire, we're calling it an 'isolated collapse of unknown origin.' It covers everything.
"Volunteers acted as the victims, complete with makeup, fake blood, and screams and moans. Some pretended to be severely injured, while others walked around acting disoriented. Fake smoke cast a white haze throughout the building.
Cathy Dahmer, 69, of Ferguson, pretended to be trapped on the floor under a pile of rubble, with a broken leg and cuts and bruises on her face. A small dummy nearby was her injured "grandson." Dahmer, a member of the Ferguson Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), patiently waited for firefighters to reach her.
"The drill is a good thing," Dahmer said. "It makes me want to go home and refresh my memory from the (CERT) textbook about what to do in this kind of situation.
"Her husband Ollie Dahmer, 70, said while it was fun, it was serious business. He participated last year, and firefighters couldn't find him in the smoke.
"They couldn't locate me," he said. "We're all kind of joking around, but these kind of drills are important.
"North Technical High School sent a group of students to volunteer for the drill. Florissant resident Thomas Bradley, 18, took law-enforcement classes at the school.
However, he also had another skill to help him on Thursday. "I've taken acting lessons," he said.
The "victims" had different kinds of injuries. James Kartmann, 70, of Ferguson, was rolled up in electric wiring, writhing in pretend agony as an electrocution victim. With the help of makeup, Overland resident Victoria Phillips, 17, appeared to have a fracture and a gash on her leg.
One by one, firefighters and emergency medical service teams tracked down the victims and treated them.
The fire departments will analyze and discuss the results of the drill, said Spanish Lake Deputy Chief Michael Flavin.
"We'll look at what we did, how much time it took," Flavin said. "We'll discuss ways to improve our responses.
"Meanwhile, Jamestown Mall officials were happy to lend the vacant Dillard's store for the simulation, said Marketing Director and Leasing Manager Dennis Kassel.
"We're pleased we could help the community," he said. "We have a good relationship with the Black Jack Fire District.
"One volunteer did pay homage to the store's history.
"Maybe one of the injuries could be from a shopping stampede," Kartmann said.
