Park Hosts Multiple Casualty Incident Training

Approximately 200 people representing over a dozen area agencies and organizations turned out near Yosemite's El Portal Administrative Site on April 4th to participate in a large scale multi-casualty incident training exercise.

The scenario was intentionally designed to mimic a realistic hazard in the narrow Merced River Canyon. The staged scenario, which included over 50 scripted and moulaged volunteer role players, involved a school bus in a high speed collision with a passenger vehicle. In addition to assessing and transporting the multiple patients on the bus, staff and skills were required to extricate the car and bring patients up the steep embankment. The incident was designed to be extremely complex, with multiple walking wounded and difficult scene control and terrain.

In  just over two hours, 54 patients were assessed and transported. Chris Ramirez, a Mariposa County Sheriff's Office deputy, was the first on scene, with incident commander duties transitioning to El Portal ranger Brendan Bonner as more resources arrived on scene. The training exercise was overseen by a group of 10 evaluators, whose feedback will be used for future training courses.

"The experience we gain from responding cooperatively in a learning environment such as this is invaluable,” said Keith Lober, the park’s emergency medical services manager. “Our ability to respond efficiently and cooperatively may mean the difference between life or death for a patient."