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Expectedly...Unexpectedly. We had our annual MCI (Mass
Casualty Incident) Drill this morning at 0830. On a
Monday morning??? Bill, the NSF Station Manager has a
habit of keeping everyone guessing about when the drill
is going to be and having them at times that are not
always the best. However, if we actually had a real
MCI, I'm sure it wouldn't be at a convenient time then
either so it makes sense. Today's incident was a fire
at the BFC (Berg Field Center) and at the Science Cargo
building. These are two of the oldest buildings on
Station and have very little if any fire suppression
systems built into the infrastructure. The part I play
during an event, imaginary or real, is to keep a timeline
of events that happen in the EOC (Emergency Operations
Center). Oh...I make coffee too. Yep...high pressure.
Since we've had two actual events this season (The Hagglund
Rollover and the Smurf Shack Fire) this drill for me was
pretty much more of the same and not stressful at all.
However it was stressful for the Medical folks who along
with all of the volunteers performing other medical tasks
that had to take care of the four victims. If this had been
a real emergency, two of the people were going to have to
be airlifted in the next few days. Meanwhile, the rest of
the station would be thinking about all of the fresh fruit
and vegetables on their way south and placing Amazon.com
orders. What??? Is that wrong??? Anyway, the entire
drill went off without too many hitches. There are always
a few and we talked about those in a debriefing later in
the day. Now that we're all trained with all of these
skills, I hope we don't have to use them for real.
to
5 comments:
As necessary as the MCI is, holding it late in the season (as seems to be the case the last few years) keeps everyone on edge stress-wise, ensures that it will be held under worse weather and with worse light (I remember doing MCI in Condition Two in 2006 where some people got frost nip and the station manager asked the weather forcaster to swith it to Condition Three. This request was refused.) and ensures that mistakes will be made, mistakes that could cost people their lives if something were to go wrong. I consider it reckless. Maybe the Station Manager should be a victim and forced to confront the possibility of frostbite or hypothermia due to somebody screwing up because of such cavalier decisions.
I agree with Osama Ben Bonnet. Also, I want your job Tom. My job as x-ray tech kept me busy the whole time, always does, and it never is over in the x-ray room even after they call it done over the radio. I can't keep up! Whew. I hope that's the last one this season. Three are enough.
You guys have had three MCIs! What a waste of people's time. It would seem to me that some people need to get jobs where they have to work for a living.
Benjamin Benjamin Benjamin...only one was a drill. Two were actual events. The hagglund rollover and the Smurf Shack Fire. No casualties, but the EOC gathered
Roger that...should have thought about that. My stupidity is now recorded for posterity's sake.
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