Writing Samples

Passing grade for Cold Lake’s disaster
by Kevin Dowler

Sticking with a rigid provincial schedule Cold Lake blew up its Legion Hall while 20 Nelson Heights students were inside the building Wednesday afternoon.

The schedule was that of Alberta Disaster Services and the explosion was that of the imagination of the groups participating in the mock disaster exercise.

Paul Riopel, St. Paul Health Services, said the exercises are held at least every five years at Alberta Hospitals to check the efficiency of town disaster plans.

Cold Lake’s mock disaster crews received commendation from Alberta Disaster Services representative Edith Hesson.

Hesson commended the quality of the onsite first aid as well as the smoothness of operation in the hospital despite its still being a new facility.

Hesson was stationed at the hospital for the exercise while Alberta Disaster Services’ John MacElron monitored the Legion disaster.

While stationed at the hospital for the exercise Hesson never saw the scene of the mock disaster and only saw the patients arrive at the hospital.

A gas explosion occurred in the Legion at about 12:50 p.m., causing the Legion’s roof to collapse, trapping the injured victims throughout the building.

Despite an early flaw in the exercise, when the victim’s phone call announcing the disaster to the hospital was cut off, the first victims arrived at the hospital within 22 minutes of the accident.

The nurse taking the call explained her nerves got the best of her after waiting all day for the call.

The staff knew the disaster was to occur Wednesday but did not know the disaster’s exact time or place.

The nurse said once she heard the Legion on the phone, she hung up without checking the validity of the call or getting the caller’s name.

Even after surviving the explosion and being hung up on by the hospital, the victim managed to call the hospital again to confirm the explosion.

Once the ambulance workers had arrived, after 10 minutes, and waited for the fire department to enter the building to check for leaking gas to ensure the Emergency Medical Technician’s safety in entering the site, the EMT’s were allowed in the building.

Moving into the disaster area, the EMT’s found scattered bodies behind the bar, under tables, in the kitchen and bathrooms as well as some panic stricken victims wandering around in confusion and shock after the explosion.

Soon the firefighters had set up fans to suck the smoke from the building and had set up generator powered emergency lights in the building to ease work inside the destroyed hall.

Cold Lake area’s EMTs worked quickly, identifying victims’ injuries and set their priorities on which victims were moved to the hospital first.

Later at the debriefing session a problem in the identification system was pointed out.

Alberta Disaster Services’ MacLeron said the use of triage (a method of assessing patient’s medical priorities) tags was well done until the victims were loaded onto stretchers and covered With blankets, which also covered the identification tags from the nurses at the hospital as well as the stretcher bearers.

He also mentioned that fire department workers were not all aware of the significance of the color coded tag system.

He did commend the first aid of the firefighters and the EMTs as being done very well.

In the building to the EMTs and firefighters the exercise could have been a real disaster judging from the seriousness of their work.

Sweat pouring down faces and authoritative shouted orders for stretchers and first aid equipment soon drowned out the moans and groans of the acting injured in the building.

Outside the Legion the street was blocked off by appointed security officers to keep out curious onlookers just as they would do in a real disaster.

One firefighter even commandeered a passing van to use as a transport for some of the first victims moved to the hospital.

Security was also set up at the hospital as stated in Cold Lake’s disaster plan.

At the town office the administration also went directly to work, calling volunteers from an organized list of disaster volunteers.

Town administrator Myron Goyan reported at the debriefing his people responded as required but he was missing direct radio contact with the hospital.

He did say he was impressed with the effectiveness of the volunteer security force, adding they did get a little over zealous.

The Handibus was turned away from the road block at the Legion which should not have happened, he said.

The handibus driver was there to help move people, it should have been let through.

Also, a lady trying to pick up a relative leaving the hospital had some trouble getting past the security guards.

Often while walking through the disaster sight and in the hospital media members were also questioned for clearance to be in the area.

Normally in such a disaster hospital administrator Ron Bexson said the media would not be allowed past the hospital security guards and would have to work through the town’s media system in Cold Lake’s disaster plan.

Once the victims arrived at the hospital they became patients and were out of the hands of the fire department and EMTs.

Most of the victims were treated at the Cold Lake Regional Hospital while a few were sent to CFB Cold Lake’s base hospital for specialist’s help.

Greeting the victims was a number of hospital staff and volunteer messengers and stretcher bearers to move the patients into the building as directed by the staff reading the triage tags and from the nursing staff’s assessment of the patients.

A surprise to the nursing staff was some patients arriving at the hospital lashed to cot stretchers with thick rope.

The nurses were later informed the rope was used to secure the patients to the cot stretchers, which have no patient tie downs, to be sure the patients did not fall off the stretchers while being carried down the steep Legion stairs.

The arriving victims were assessed then moved into the trauma unit, day surgery or burn unit, depending on their injuries.

There was some delay in moving the large number of patients quickly enough through the radiology section to check for internal injuries.

Radiology was forced to, use its mobile X ray unit to check some of the patients unable to be moved into radiology because of the specific injuries.

Director of nursing, Dorothy Hesby, said the hospital was in an initial sense of melee at the beginning but once everyone was settled into position and calmed down her staff worked very well moving patients around.

A list of hospital rooms designated to be used for disasters issued to her staff proved to, be of great assistance in the carrying out of their tasks during the exercise, she added.

Summarizing the disaster exercise hospital administrator Bexson said it was not done by the hospital for a seal of approval but to gain knowledge of how to conduct itself during an actual disaster.

The event was treated as a learning experience for all departments involved, all of which were taking notes of possible changes to improve their service in the case of a real disaster in Cold Lake.

Even the RCMP were involved and commended for their part in the exercise.

Sgt. Bob Beckwith was commended by Disaster Services Hesson for his decision to leave the medical people in charge of the site organization.

He said the RCMP’s part was more of investigation, which could be done the next day so he decided to let the medical people continue to do the organizing of what they know about best.

Hesson commended Beckwith’s decision; saying usually the arrival of police at a scene involves a reorganization resulting in loss of valuable time needed for the survival of the victims.

The exercise was completed by about 3 p.m., two hours after the first call was made to the hospital.

Hesson and the other three members of Alberta Disaster Services will continue to review Cold Lake’s mock disaster and compile and send a report of the day’s exercise with their recommendations of the event to the hospital and town.

Meanwhile, the group was off to create more havoc with another mock disaster, this time in Elk Point on Thursday.

Hesson said they do about 25 mock disaster a year, trying to conduct one mock disaster at each Alberta hospital every five years.