Set for this Wednesday is a mock disaster drill at the Van Buren Intermediate School District’s tech center in Lawrence. Van Buren Tech chief fire instructor Jeromy Robertson tells us they do this every year, inviting police, EMS, and fire services to stage a major disaster for the students to handle.
“The scenario is kept confidential until the day of, but normally includes helicopters and resources from all over the region,” Robertson said.
Robertson says the idea is to stage the disaster, and then step aside to let the students respond. Participating agencies will play several roles.
“They’ll be acting as victims, they’ll be acting as members of their own industry, or whatever part they want to play within the scenario. It’s a very robust scenario, so there are lots of things to do.”
Even the tech center’s cosmetology students get involved, putting makeup effects on victims, while students from the auto shop help arrange vehicles. Robertson couldn’t tell us what this year’s disaster will be as it’s a surprise for the students, although last year’s scenario involved two buses that hit some motorcycles. They also had cattle running around the scene. The disaster drill starts at 8:30 and there will be another staged in the afternoon for different classes. If you see something big happening at the tech center Wednesday, don’t worry. It’s only a drill.
