Operation: Dire Straits is three day emergency response exercise
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ST. IGNACE -- A major collision between a passenger ferry and a tug boat in Moran Bay was the scenario played out in day two of Operation: Dire Straits.
It’s a three part rescue exercise with various federal, state, and local emergency agencies.
As part of the exercise a ferry liner dubbed “Vacation Land” is disabled in the waters near Mackinac after colliding with a tug pushing a barge filled with fuel. It then becomes the task of rescue workers to save more than 60 victims still on board; some have fallen into the chilly waters below.
“Once the victims come off the boat they come to us and we do a quick triage which means we assess their injuries and decide which category they go into so we can keep in contact with the hospital,” said Stephannie Vallier, an EMT specialist in St. Ignace.
In lieu of real people, crews used immersion suits, each had a tag detailing a specific set of injuries.
While victims were being treated on the scene, near by division leaders gathered at central command to observe the situation and prepare for the next step of action.
“The training is extremely important,” said Deputy Commander George Paitl of United State Coast Guard – Sault Ste. Marie sector. “This is the time we can make mistakes, this is the time that we exercise our plans, this is what all of the folks train for and then this full scale exercise is a way to test our abilities. The time when you don’t want to make mistakes is when there is an actual emergency.”
Officials says the purpose of the exercises is for planned responses and to ensure safety agencies are ready to react in the event of an actual disaster.
“I think it’s going very well, but that’s not to say we don’t have lessons to learn,” Paitl said. “We have a whole list of them and what we’ll do is go back and modify our contingency plans and do a much better job next time.”
However, the exercises are providing a lesson not only to the professionals but to students as well. A group of Lake Superior State University students who volunteered their time as volunteers say they’re also gaining real world experience.
“It gives me a good idea of how it would operate, how chaos can be brought into order,” said Adam Moldovan, a fire science/paramedic major at LSSU.
“It’s always good experience for the field I’m going into to get involved in these kind of things,” said Allen Hipps, another LSSU student. “We got to help out and also talk to a lot of people that we wouldn’t be able to sitting in a classroom.”
Operation: Dire Straits is also providing an opportunity for organizations like the Salvation Army to test their operation as well. Typically during events the Salvation Army provides support to the emergency responders in addition to victims.
“Salvation Army gets called out to primarily feed, not only the first responders, but the victims as well,” said Ned Workman, business manager for Salvation Army – Cheboygan County. “We’ll feed anyone involved in the disaster, but we’re there to help the victims and the people that are helping them.”
Operation: Dire Straits concludes on Thursday when crews clean up a simulated fuel spill created by the theoretically crash of the two water vessels.
