Worst case scenario

On Tuesday, Aug. 29, local emergency responders were put to the test, as they took part in a mock disaster exercise at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd in New Rockford.

The fake scenario they responded to was all too relevant for New Rockford residents: a major roof collapse due to heavy snow.

Eddy County Emergency Manager Lisa Thompson said planning for the exercise has long been underway, and that a tabletop version of the training was conducted back in January, the very same week the Rockford Theatre's roof collapsed in downtown New Rockford.

Thompson said it was a coincidence that they were preparing for a roof collapse exercise the same week as the theatre's roof collapse, but that it certainly put into perspective just how important such exercises are.

“It was a coincidence, but it’s factual that those types of things can happen in this area with heavy snow, and especially with older structures,” said Thompson. “We were just really grateful we didn’t have a whole theatre full of students that day when it collapsed, and hopefully what we learn [from this exercise] will help us be prepared if something like that ever happens again.”

Thompson said that Tuesday’s mock scenario of a roof collapse resulted in a dangerous chemical reaction and that multiple residents at the nursing home were injured.

The exercise was organized jointly by Eddy County Emergency Management and the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd (LHGS). Participating agencies were the New Rockford Rural Fire Department, Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford (CASNR) and the LHGS staff.

Volunteers and some CASNR members put on their acting hats as they played the role of nursing home residents, and in charge of evacuating those residents were nursing home staff.

Any residents injured were rescued by the fire department and treated by additional CASNR members on scene. The fire department also addressed the roof collapse and the hazmat situation.

Thompson said the Lutheran Home needed to practice an evacuation, while New Rockford’s emergency responders needed to practice a hazmat scenario, and so this exercise essentially covered both.

Exercises like the one conducted on Tuesday are important for local first responders to stay sharp and keep up to date with the latest methods and challenges, and Thompson said more exercises are to come.

“It’s beneficial for our local first responders to have this sort of real world training, especially in the light of our changing society,” she said. “We chose this training to meet the needs of our area, and we’re looking down the road to probably doing more real life things. Unfortunately, active shooters is probably something that we’ll have to look at.”

According to a press release from Eddy County’s Public Information Officer, Tiffany Harr, “The purpose of this full-scale exercise is to enhance Eddy County’s preparedness and safety by testing the Fire Departments, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Medical Services’ ability to respond to and recover from a real-life scenario. As well, it will test the Lake Region 911 system and communications.”

Thompson added, “The importance is that they get trained so that we can determine where there are some shortfalls and make those corrections before we have an actual event that we have to deal with.”