Local Radar

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Disaster trailer adds to county emergency response abilities

web posted June 12, 2007
COUNTY – Edgefield County Emergency Management Director Mike Casey allowed EdgefieldDaily.com to tour the Disaster Response and Forward Command trailer that is being outfitted by the county for response to mass casualty situations or disasters such as a tornado or other similar disaster. “With the contents of the trailer,” EMA Director Casey said, “we can treat between thirty and fifty patients.”

Though the trailer is not fully equipped at the moment, it is not far from being placed into service and already shows how iatrical it will be to emergency situations as they arise. The 18-foot trailer was purchased by the county last year. The total investment by the county in the trailer and the equipment is $8,000. Mr. Casey also stated that two anonymous benefactors contributed a total of $600 to help outfit the trailer and that additional contributions are welcomed.

Mr. Casey explained that the Disaster Response trailer will be used in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office Mobile Command truck and assist EMS and Fire Departments handle mass causality situations. The trailer would be a command base where EMS, First Responders, and CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) would go to re-supply their triage bags with bandages, gloves, oxygen, and other first aid supplies while treating casualties.

The trailer is equipped with at least three dozen backboards that contain a neck brace, straps, and other immobilization equipment. The cardboard kits cost a great deal less than standard backboards which often times remain with a patient that has been transported to hospitals for treatment. “When we have a patient on a board it could be hours before we could get it back (in service) to treat someone else,” Mr. Casey said. The unit also has at least a dozen similar kits for pediatric and child restraints.

In addition to the immobilization equipment the trailer will house a decontamination tent along with disposable sheets when patients have to remove clothing that is contaminated by chemical or other hazardous materials. When the trailer arrives at a location the back of the trailer will be lowered and the tent rolled out and set up. This also gives emergency personnel a place to recover during extended duty. “We want to make sure that responders are also safe,” Mr. Casey said, “we want to make sure that we take vitals (blood pressure, heart rate ect.) so we don’t have responders falling out.”

The air-conditioned trailer also acts as a forward command center with several radios that can be used to communicate with area law enforcement and fire officials. Additional walkie-talkies are also a part of the plan for such a response, “the trailer may be set up near the location but we might not be able to see what is going on over the hill, let’s say,” Mr. Casey explained. “We can give one of the CERT leaders a radio so they can relay that information back to us,” Mr. Casey said, allowing better management of the situation.

In describing a “mass casualty” situation EMA Director Casey said a finite definition was “fluid” and offered, “I guess it would be any situation that would overwhelm emergency response teams.”

The Disaster Response trailer used in conjunction with the Mobil Command Unit of the Sheriff’s Office gives Edgefield County a high caliber response and command center to handle a disaster should it occur such as the tornadoes that ripped through Merriwether a few years ago destroying homes and injuring many on Garrett Road.

The final additions needed to place the trailer into service will take place in the next few months as the new fiscal year begins and includes adding a six-kilowatt generator, lettering, and additional lights. Mr. Casey said the response trailer has been a “labor of love” for him and that similar trailers, if purchased outright, would cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. “I think the trailer alone would run $12,000 to $15,000,” Casey said. He and other volunteers have donated their time to make the response trailer a reality for a mere $8,000.

Edgefield County Council Chairman Monroe Kneece stated the county was eager to make the purchase possible. “We had to wait until we could find the money for it,” Kneece said, “and when we had it available it (the trailer) fit the needs just perfect.” Kneece also commended EMA Director Casey for his hard work, “we’re proud to have him.”

EMA Director Casey said the Mobil Command Unit of the Sheriff’s Office did not cost the taxpayer any funds as the money came from grants. EdgefieldDaily.com has plans to tour the Mobile Command Unit of the Sheriff’s Office in the coming weeks.

 

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