When seconds count: Realistic drill puts firefighters, RVAC to the test

The Riverhead Fire Department staged a realistic drill Monday night to play out a scenario in which four firefighters were trapped in a burning building. That building was the department’s training facility on Northville Turnpike, but when the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded, members had no idea the firefighters who were dragged out were faking their injuries.

“The ambulance thinks that this is just a regular drill for them,” said RVAC Chief Joey Oliver as the building was filled with smoke and the first fire trucks began to arrive.

“They think that we’re coming down here for firefighter rehab just as our training; they don’t have any idea that there’s real people in there, ‘trapped.’ They’re gonna be listening to the radio, Chief Brooks is gonna make it sound real, saying that there’s firefighters down, can’t find them — hopefully get their adrenaline going.”

First Assistant Chief Kevin Brooks said his firefighters would be simulating a collapse event. With the clock ticking as oxygen tanks deplete, he said such drills are vital in getting responders familiar with reacting to an emergency within an emergency.

In the event of a real scenario, Brooks said neighboring departments would respond because of the emotional aspect: one department’s members, some of whom are family, can react unpredictably to their colleagues being in danger.

This was the first drill to involve multiple live victims and an unwitting EMS crew.

As that crew stood by with equipment ready, four firefighters were pulled one by one out of the smoke-filled building. They were put on stretchers and rolled to the ambulance. The first to be taken got up when he reached it, so Brooks told the rest to stay down to keep the experience real.

Mark Gregory is commissioner of the East Quogue Fire Department. He ran the training as he has done for departments across the country, accompanying the firefighters who went into the building. His critique for the firefighters and medics was positive.

“I think: very good,” he said. “They gave you a simulated ceiling collapse on top of four firefighters. They gave you more information than I ever would have gave you – they basically gave you a roadmap to where they were, told you their condition, which was great. I don’t know if you heard me in the background, every time he was trying to talk I was screaming. Because what’s gonna happen in the real world? Guys are gonna scream. They’re dying. They wanna get out. Gotta get them out.”

Oliver said he was pleased with his team’s performance, executing their tasks while working through equipment malfunctions “there to trip them up” and the stress of the situation. He said some valuable lessons were learned, like the need for a regular triage station away from the building entrance to prevent bottlenecking the firefighters as they worked to get the victims out.

“I told the police department to make everything sound real. The transmissions were real. It was great. It was probably one of the best training sessions we’ve had this year,” said Oliver.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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