Crime & Safety

Brick First Responders Simulate Mass Casualty Incident at High School

Mass casualty drill held in Brick

It's a scenario that, if faced in real life, could have immense and tragic consequences: a school bus crashing into the bleachers at the Brick Memorial High School homecoming football game.

While there was no bus crash last weekend, first responders on Saturday used a situation where large casualties would result to drill on how a response would be handled – regardless of what caused so many people to be injured.

"First responders were faced with multiple injuries, vehicle entrapment, and numerous types of medical emergencies," said Sgt. Henry Drew. "All the agencies that were involved worked together, and demonstrated how a coordinated effort can bring large incidents to a successful conclusion."

Throughout the drill, Brick Memorial students played the part of victims.

The drill brought together police officers, fire companies and EMTs, who all simulated their roles in a mass casualty incident. Brick Township, even before the drill, was better prepared for a mass casualty situation than most other communities since it is home to a mobile triage unit that can go out to large accidents or disaster scenes and help medical personnel treat patients before they are taken to hospitals. Brick was selected to be a host community for the massive vehicle that houses the unit in 2011.

"Many lessons were learned and, additional drills like this will be planned in the future," Drew said.

Along with the police department, the following local agencies participated in the drill:

  • Brick Township Office of Emergency Management
  • Brick Township Police Emergency Medical Service
  • New Jersey EMS Task Force
  • Pioneer Hose Fire Company
  • Breton Woods Fire Company
  • Laurelton Fire Company
  • Herbertsville Fire Company
  • Brick Fire Department Technical Rescue Team
  • MONOC Paramedics
  • Brick Township Volunteer EMS
  • Lakewood EMS
  • Toms River EMS
  • Point Pleasant Boro EMS
  • Howell EMS
  • Silver Ridge Park EMS

Joe’s Service Center of Brick assisted in setting up the vehicles that were used in the simulated crashes, and Blewett’s Scrap Yard of Howell provided some of the vehicles involved, Drew said.


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