Crittenden County Emergency Management along with Crittenden Community Hospital and other emergency response agencies will be conducting a Mock Disaster Drill on Saturday.
The exercise aimed at honing skills, training and testing readiness of first responders will begin at 4 p.m. The drill will be held at Lake George also known as Marion City Lake. While most of the activity will be centered in that area, emergency vehicles running lights and sirens will be prevalent in the community during the event.
Chuck Hoover, director of Emergency Management in the county, said details of the fake disaster are a well kept secret because coordinators want to make it feel as real as possible. He said it could be something to do with a water rescue since it’s at the lake or perhaps an automobile crash. There could even be a search and rescue operation worked into the plan.
“Whatever we do, it must exceed the hospital’s capacity,” Hoover said, pointing to the emergency room’s space. “There will probably be eight or nine patients.”
The Local Boy Scouts Troop 3030 will serve as role players, either patients or bystanders.
Hoover said Crittenden Community Hospital is required to have a mock drill more regularly than the local emergency management team. This particular drill is largely to meet the hospital’s needs. Joey Jones is responsible for emergency response at the hospital, Hoover said, and he will be helping to orchestrate the exercise.
“We want to involve as many response agencies as possible,” Hoover said.
It’s going to look and feel like a major news-making event to residents and motorists in the community when alarms start blaring on Saturday afternoon.
Besides law enforcement and the hospital, Crittenden EMS, local fire departments, AirEvac and others will be involved in the mock disaster.
