By Barbara Brown

Frenzied activity in the North Branch City Hall parking lot Monday night was part of a life-like drill for the fire department to train on how to triage patients and use a new tool.

The Aug. 16 mock disaster drill, planned by the Minnesota Fire/EMS Safety Center, was staged using the scenario that a large cement truck, provided by Bauerly Bros., collided with two vehicles.

ìVictimsî in one of the cars were covered with lye from a spill off the truck. In the other car, more victims suffered gashes on their heads and necks, concussions and possible broken bones.

Simultaneously, in another corner of the parking lot, fire fighters responded to a serious ATV crash in which two juvenile passengers were injured.

Playing victims in the drill were Nikki Shinler, 15, Ashlie Shinler, 15, Logan Shinler, 12, Austin Shinler, 10, Elizabeth Walters, 12, Jade Niedorf, 18, Greg Hult, 11 and Steven Blodgett.

During the drill, organized by Woody Walters, Dave Schwartz and Joe Grafft, firefighters were asked to assess the needs of the victims, administer first aid, remove them from the vehicles and get them to the proper station ñ the ambulance or the decontamination unit.
The decontamination unit is a trailer that is equipped with a shower that can be used to rinse off victims or firefighters if they are exposed to chemicals or other substances that could harm them.

The unit was purchased through a grant for the St. Croix Valley Firefighters Association and is shared with North Branch, Isanti and Mora. Currently it is housed at North Branch. The unit rotates among the three cities throughout the year.

It also can be used to warm firefighters working in extreme cold conditions or cool them off if they are working in very hot conditions.
The unit cost $85,000. There are 15 of them in the state, held by each of the 15 firefighter associations in Minnesota.

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