If you see firefighters working with badly injured people beginning Tuesday at the former Vancouver city hall, don’t get worried and call 911.
It’s a “Mass Casualty Incident” drill that will continue on and off into early December.
It’s operated by the Clark County Training Division, which trains three large fire departments: the Vancouver Fire Department, Fire District 6 and Clark County Fire & Rescue.
The drill will be at 210 E. 13th St. Tuesday through Thursday and Nov. 15-17. It also will run Dec. 6-8. The drills will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.
American Medical Response (AMR) and emergency 911 dispatchers will also take part in the mock emergency that will center on a tornado scenario that has partially destroyed the building and injured 12 people inside.
Fire Cadets, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, and volunteers from the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics will act as victims with mock injuries that could appear real to onlookers. First responders will practice sorting and prioritizing treatment and transport of patients by the severity of their injuries.
“A mass casualty incident can happen anytime, anywhere, so it’s important for us to be prepared so that we can work together effectively and efficiently when the real thing happens,” said Training Division Capt. Shawn Newberry.
