Woodbridge first responders stage school bus crash drill
Crews responded as if two major collisions involving a school bus had happened on busy township roads.
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Police, fire and EMS crews in Woodbridge Township responded to two simulated school bus crashes Sunday as part of a large-scale training drill meant to prepare them for a real one.
The drill ran from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the township’s municipal boat ramp at 1 Ferry St. in Sewaren. Crews responded as if two major collisions involving a school bus had happened on busy township roads. The scenario included several cars trapped under a bus, one even with a non-live electrical pole on top which was donated by PSE&G.
Mayor John McCormac said the drill brought together the township’s police department, eight fire departments, five first aid squads and emergency management staff, along with mutual aid partners from Rahway, Perth Amboy and Middlesex County.
“This is a monumental effort,” McCormac said. “It’s not out of the question that we could have a catastrophic accident on one of those highways and we should be ready for it. That’s what today did.”
Responders practiced the Incident Command System, vehicle stabilization, patient access, extrication and emergency medical care. Before Sunday’s final exercise, crews rotated through stations where they practiced stabilizing and lifting vehicles and cutting apart a bus and a car.
“It prepared our responders for the final evolution today, where they can take all that and put it together,” Deputy Fire Chief Mark Minkler said, who played a key role in organizing the drill. “We need to make sure we’re prepared to respond appropriately to these types of incidents.”
Officials said a school bus crash presents unique challenges because of the vehicle’s size, passenger capacity and the potential for multiple patients.
Sgt. Philip Agosta, of the Woodbridge Police Traffic Unit, said it’s incredibly rare to see first responders have an opportunity to train in this way together.
“This is something that hasn’t been done in years, not only in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County, probably the state of New Jersey,” he said.
Responders pulled dummies from the vehicles themselves, although after that, the victims were played by drama club students from local high schools who were wearing makeup and acted to show varying levels of injury.
Woodbridge EMS Manager Dennis Petrick said the students’ performances made the exercise more realistic for their team. EMS identified their degree of injury, and ‘transported’ them in ambulances.
“Their acting was tremendous and what that does is it incites activity in our first responders,” he said. “By these kids doing that, it just made it totally realistic and it heightens the senses of our personnel.”
