Students ‘rescue’ victims during mock car bombing

By Gus Bode

There have been plane crashes, train derailments and, now in Carbondale, a car bombing.

A mock disaster occurred on campus Thursday to ready individuals in case of emergency. Each year the disaster differs, with this year’s being a car bombing, but Peggy Wilken, a assistant professor teaching advanced First-Aid and emergency care, said she hopes students in attendance learned from the pretend chaos.

In Lot 45 near the Brush Towers, four people laid outside of a car that had just “blown up,” smoke billowing from the destroyed vehicle. Two teams of students ran to the car in their white suits, fully equipped with a spine board, gauze and anything needed to secure a victim during an emergency.

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As team Alpha tended to one woman and assessed the situation, she screamed in pain. With meticulous care, they secured her head with neck brace and rolled her onto the spine board. The smoke engulfed the squad, but they worked diligently to make sure the victim was in place and moved her to the operating table across the parking lot.

Transporting the person, one member threw a blanket over the victim to stop the shivering woman from going into shock, as they would in a real-life crisis.

“We need more gauze for this victim,” Josh McDonald shouted out as another team member hands him the needed tool to stop the bleeding.

The realness of the acting victims made one student, Loren Slaughter, look twice.

As all the victims were secured and away from the car, the Carbondale Fire Department, who was there to assist the students, crept up to the car to put out the smoke. As they approached, one fireman let off a fake grenade, sending shock waves to the four crews operating on the victims across the parking lot.

The team members sent two squads over to help the downed firemen. This posed a larger task for the students since the firemen distinctly outweighed the first set of victims.

After struggling to safeguard the firemen, the drill came to an end.

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As the crew climbed aboard the school bus, dusting off the snow and cold from their flushed bodies, it was time to rest.

Wilken sat down with the students to let them know that working for an emergency crew is never easy and it often requires they do so under adverse conditions.

“Most accidents happen during cold and nasty weather,” Wilken said. “So it’s good for them in this weather because they need to get used to it.”

Wilken said the students’ entire semester of work culminated to the point of putting them in a potentially real situation.

“You can read all you want on (these situations), but it’s easier to learn hands on,” said Carbondale Fireman Capt. Louis Hertter, who helped participate with the students during the drill.

Andrew Wynn, a senior from Salem, Mo., studying administration of justice, said the type of hands-on experience he was able to get could help him as he moves into a career in the future.

“I plan on being in law enforcement, and there is always a chance I could be the first responder, so I need to be prepared for it,” Wynn said.

Reporter Matthew McConkey can be reached at [email protected]

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