Van Buren Tech in Lawrence will be the site of some excitement next Tuesday, May 12 as more than 100 students in the center’s programs take part in its annual mock disaster drill.
Van Buren Tech marketing specialist Mikenzie Chambers tells us the event is always the year’s most anticipated.
“It is the biggest event of the year,” Chambers said. “It brings together our EMT, Fire Science Academy, law enforcement students for a full-scale emergency scenario where they respond in real time and put everything they’ve learned throughout this year into practice”
Chambers says police, fire, and ambulance agencies — and even sometimes the U.S. military — help out for the drill each year. This will involve students from more than 20 programs.
“What they can expect is hands-on training experience. Students are placed in developing emergency situations and have to respond just like they would in the field, working together, making quick decisions, and managing the scene start to finish. It really highlights both the technical skills and how they perform under pressure.”
Chambers says not only will the police, EMS, and fire students get experience, but even the cosmetology students take part, doing the makeup effects for accident victims. She can’t tell us just what disaster they’ll be simulating, but says last year’s disaster was a plane crash into a flea market.
There will be two drills next Tuesday — one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 12:30 p.m. Anyone from the public that wants to watch is told to report to the Van Buren Tech front office.
