Texting, driving scenario for emergency drill

Clockwise from upper left, Volunteers posing as victims yell for help from inside a partially crushed car as emergency responders calm them and prepare extrication equipment. The scene of a mock-accident involving four vehicles and multiple victims staged on West D Street by the McCook Fire Department Monday evening. The training exercise attempted to highlight and prepare for the dangers involved in texting and driving. McCook Fire Dept. Lieutenant Mike Schoenemann puts some finishing touches on a victim prior to emergency responders arriving. One of four disabled vehicles staged on West D Street as part of a McCook Fire Department training exercise Monday evening. Emergency responders swarm one vehicle prior to extricating a pair of victims inside. (Bruce Baker/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Neb. -- Four disabled vehicles and several volunteers posing as accident victims littered West D Street Monday evening as part of a training exercise highlighting the dangers of texting and driving.

The event provided area emergency responders with a unique training opportunity encompassing several aspects of accident response, including patient treatment, vehicle extrication and air-transfer protocol, among others. EMS personnel rescued a pair of mock-victims from one vehicle in addition to transporting another to an awaiting helicopter crew at the McCook High School practice field as part of the exercise.

The staged scenario attempted to depict a high-speed collision that involved alcohol and a distracted driver that was texting. Emergency responders were tasked with coordinating the rescue, treatment and transport for six victims.

"Training last night was awesome," said McCook Fire Chief Marc Harpham this morning. Harpham praised the efforts of a pair of McCook firefighters for designing and planning the event, Lt. Mike Schoenemann and McCook Community College Fire Science Director Tim Zehnder. "Both invested a lot of time in putting the training together for us and it turned out great," said Harpham.

Just shy of 30 personnel from several different departments swarmed the scene at just past 7 p.m., representing emergency responders from Bartley, Cambridge, Indianola, Trenton and McCook. The LIFENET helicopter crew that participated is based at Great Plains Health in North Platte and transported one victim from the high school field to Community Hospital.

The mock-victims participating in the exercise were children and friends of Zehnder.

"Even though this was a training exercise, it was set to real time and we utilized all of the extrication tools and techniques that we would normally use. The only difference between the drill and an actual event of this magnitude is that we would utilize our mutual aid departments for assistance, which would provide us with more manpower, ambulances and EMS personnel," said Harpham.

Harpham said all of the personnel involved came from a variety of different departments, with varying degrees of training, and worked together flawlessly to triage, extricate and transport the patients to the proper destination.