Spring Break
52-acre mock earthquake helps train Aggie Care Team
Students volunteer for Disaster City to prepare for natural disasters
By: Jason Weidner
Issue date: 3/31/09 Section: News
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During an all-day exercise Saturday, dozens of local emergency medical personnel from Texas A&M were trained at Disaster City, a 52-acre facility equipped with collapsible buildings.
The event started at 9 a.m. when over a dozen members of Texas A&M University's CareTeam assembled at the A.P. Beutel Health Center awaiting their "call" to the annual exercise. The event was organized by Texas Task Force 1, an urban search and rescue team funded through Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).
This is the second year the Aggie CareTeam participated in the event. Throughout the day 100 volunteers acted as if they were victims of a massive earthquake - a mock 8.6 on the Richter scale. Many of the "victims" were covered in fake blood and makeup to bring a sense of realism to the training session.
Some victims were told by the TEEX staff to try and interfere with medical and search and rescue efforts. The victims interfered by acting as if they were helpful bystanders not injured during the catastrophe.
Other victims played roles that required them to pretend they were severely injured. Bridget McCormick of Flower Mound, Texas, appeared to have a large wound on her neck - makeup applied by TEEX employees before the event.
McCormick heard about the volunteering opportunity through her sister, a member of the Texas A&M Student Association of International Law, whose members were present, volunteering as victims.
"I'm a senior in high school and I'm hoping to come to A&M next year. I thought volunteering for the event would be a good way to see the kinds of opportunities available to students," McCormick said while she sat with other victims whom had been triaged by the Aggie CareTeam.
Members of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, Austin Cox, a sophomore aerospace major, and Jorge Bustamante, a junior oceanography major said they saw the volunteer opportunity as a great alternative to Big Event, which took place Saturday as well.
"We could either paint a house for Big Event or we could help train professionals to save lives. The decision was easy," Cox said.
CareTeam member Carmen Kwong said last year's mock Mass Casualty Incident in emergency medical parlance was also an earthquake scenario. Her colleague and CareTeam's President Linda Salzar explained that the scenario is repeated for three years because Task Force 1 has three teams - and each one needs exposure to the situation.
CareTeam members explained that the scenario of an earthquake is relevant to the area because there is a fault line that runs through the middle of continental United States. They said that even though it is a mock earthquake, victims had the same kinds of injuries expected from nearly any other Mass Casualty Incident - lacerations, loss of mental faculties, amputations and death.
"The event is more about understanding how to interact with other agencies and while still being able to provide a level of care in a chaotic environment," Salzar said.
In all, nearly 200 people participated in the event including Task Force 1 members from all over the state of Texas as well as volunteers and the Aggie CareTeam.
Volunteer
Students interested in volunteering for next year's mock Mass Casualty Incident can contact TEEX through their website www.teex.com.
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
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