Just a drill: EMFD hosts EMS training exercise

Radios of all East Meadow fire and EMS members alerted for a mass casualty incident that would test the skills of all members during a training exercise on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Put together by the Chief’s Office and the EMFD Training Committee, the drill was held at the East Meadow High School where more than 20 persons were tended to with a wide range of mock traumatic injuries.

Also involved were the Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Emergency Ambulance Bureau, Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, Nassau University Medical Center and the many neighboring fire departments who responded as part of the mutual aid plan.

The drill brought in approximately 20 ambulances from various agencies, putting both manpower skills and resources to the test.

The drill proved the commitment of East Meadow’s bravest where approximately 100 members quickly arriving on the scene.

Under a unified command structure, the plan brought firefighters, EMTs, police, and hospital professionals together to save lives.

The drill gave fire and EMS officers the chance to facilitate the many different levels of command required of a large scale disaster, including securing the injured on back boards, and moving them to a designated treatment area where they were triaged and treated for life threatening injuries, while enabling transport decisions to be made to the most appropriate destination hospital.

The exercise also brought the professionals at NUMC to the forefront as teams of doctor and nurses readied to received the patients, each with a wide ranged of simulated injuries.

Through the use of a staging area in the East Meadow Bowl Parking Lot, for incoming ambulances, the massive EMS response gave East Meadow Chiefs the rare opportunity to coordinate command and control, of all units awaiting orders.

In all, nearly 100 East Meadow volunteers participated in the exercise with another 50 emergency responders from several other agencies supporting the common goal.

John J. O'Brien is an active Ex Chief of the East Meadow Fire Department. He is the District Supervisor of the Jericho Fire District and has over 40 years of Dispatch and Supervisory experience.