Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian Kummer | Paramedics of the George Washington University Emergency Medical Services and...... read more read more
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CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait - Soldiers from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade teamed up with civilian firefighters and emergency medical services to test their pre-accident plan at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Feb. 24.
The exercise tested the partnered agencies’ ability to effectively respond to a simulated fire aboard a helicopter at the airfield. Every step of Camp Buehring’s pre-accident plan for this emergency was tested; from the moment key leaders were notified to emergency personnel’s cooperation skills on the scene.
“An incident like this is something that we don’t do every day, thankfully,” said EMS Division Chief Eric Christensen, an Indianapolis resident with the George Washington University Emergency Medical Services. “In this exercise we got to test the response times of all our partners, military and civilian.”
The event started with a crew from Company F, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, 40th CAB, simulating an emergency landing caused by a fire aboard their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Firefighters and EMS personnel took control of the scene and rescued the crew members from their helicopter.
“This gave us good hands-on experience,” Christensen said.
After the crew received treatment for their simulated wounds, a second Black Hawk from Company F evacuated two medical manikins to Camp Arifjan.
Depending on the circumstances, an emergency at Camp Buehring could potentially require action from multiple organizations, such as the fire station, troop medical clinic or military police. The key concept behind a pre-accident plan is the Incident Command System, first developed in 1968 for use against the California wildfires, but now used across the country and overseas. ICS establishes a clear command hierarchy and roles for every involved agency responding to an emergency.
“We constantly review and update [the pre-accident plan] to take to the next incident,” Christensen said.
The key figure in an ICS is the incident commander. An incident commander is appointed based on the nature of a particular emergency, and which organization is best suited to take control of the situation. For this exercise, Assistant Fire Chief James Wenger Jr. of Vectrus Fire and Emergency Services served as the incident commander.
Wenger, a Tullahoma, Tennessee, resident, is an Air Force veteran with nearly 30 years of experience as a firefighter.
“My main focus is life safety, scene mitigation and scene stabilization,” Wenger said.
An incident commander is not the only leader involved at an emergency scene. An accident involving casualties requires a triage officer.
“The triage officer did an outstanding job,” Wenger said. “She orchestrated on-scene medical treatment with poise and calm demeanor.”
A triage officer is responsible for prioritizing injured personnel based on the severity of their injuries, and ensuring they are accounted for at all times.
“You really have to brief your team for safe practices,” said EMS Capt. Angela White, the on-scene triage officer and Ennis, Montana, native. “You have to establish priority for the patients and know their destinations.”
Practicing the pre-accident plan helped familiarize the 40th CAB Soldiers as well as give them valuable practice training side-by-side with their civilian counterparts.
“I haven’t done an exercise like this in quite a while,” said Capt. Brett Barker, a Harrisville, West Virginia, resident, and platoon commander with Company F. “If this becomes real, then its someone’s son, brother or husband you’re trying to get home.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.29.2016 16:06 |
| Story ID: | 190484 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Hometown: | ENNIS, MT, US |
| Hometown: | HARRISVILLE, WV, US |
| Hometown: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Hometown: | TULLAHOMA, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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