Disaster drill set for
local schools.
Merced Sun-Star, Merced, CA,
Monday, August 19, 2002
The cafeteria at Sheehy Elementary
School in Merced is rocked by a gas explosion, injuring more than two
dozen tiny victims.
The explosion startles hundreds
of youngsters in the classrooms. A fire alarm blares.
Gas-laced smoke drifts down
the hallways and into classrooms.
Fighting to see and breathe,
children try to follow their teachers out of the school.
Sirens scream through the
streets of South Merced as firefighters race to the school.
The firefighters are well
aware that there's been an explosion and that children and staff are
injured and in need of help.
The firefighters don't know
what caused the explosion ... or if there'll be another. Workers from
Pacific Gas & Electric stand by until the firefighters secure the building
and say it's safe to enter.
Teachers and administrators
frantically count children filing onto evacuation buses. The adults
try to calm the youngsters and one another.
Within minutes, parents,
alerted by the sirens, start arriving at the school. They want to find
their children, but they're held back.
The firefighters will be
the first in, the first to see the burns, the broken bones, the bodies.
Thankfully, this isn't real.
It is just a drill.
There was no explosion, no
burns, no broken bones, no fatalities. It's just pretend, with make-up
and tiny actors.
This time, at least.
Merced City School District
staff and representatives from the city fire and police departments,
PG&E, the Red Cross, Riggs Ambulance Service, Mercy Medical Center Merced
and the Merced County Office of Education crowded around a table earlier
this week to hammer out details of the drill.
It is scheduled for Oct.
8 as part of the district's plan to update its emergency disaster plan.
Mary Schoenfeldt, school
safety consultant with Schoenfeldt and Associates, was hired by the
district in November for to provide a crisis response program.
On Thursday, Schoenfeldt
asked the agency representatives about their response plans for disasters.
Steve Raney, a division chief
with the fire department, said, "Our main concern is ... going in and
making the building safe for (the responding officers) and the students."
He added, "Controlling the fire, we do that everyday. That's a piece
of cake."
Schoenfeldt asked how long
it would take for the firefighters to enter the school.
Raney said that before the
firefighters go in, a lot of things need to be assessed.
"How long did they wait to
go into the World Trade Center?" he answered.
The issue of parents or concerned
residents trying to get on campus was another subject of concern Thursday.
Raney said would-be rescuers
are kept back because if they aren't, "total chaos can take place so
fast."
Anne Bright from the Red
Cross said her agency can provide a place for parents to gather and
receive updates and counseling. She added that the Red Cross also can
provide support services for the police and fire personnel.
Riggs Ambulance Service will
be called to the scene to set up a triage area, determining which injured
will be airlifted to hospitals, which will go by ambulance and which
will be "walking wounded."
George Stalis from Riggs
said injuries he would expect from an explosion will include burns,
asthma-related problems and a lot of trauma such as cuts and bruises.
Schoenfeldt said the idea
behind the scenario is to challenge the district's response, find the
kinks and see what might need fine-tuning.
According to Mona Lis, assistant
district superintendent, the disaster scenario will be the first in
years, and district staff and officials hope to perfect their plan and
improve student safety.
A link
to the newspaper story itself is here.
