N.L. mock disaster sends 21 people to hospital

[vangemeren]

N.L. mock disaster sends 21 people to hospital

Article Link

Twenty-one people suffering from smoke inhalation were rushed to hospital Thursday after participating in a mock disaster exercise off the western coast of Newfoundland.

Federal maritime, aeronautical and ground search and rescue components were involved in the operation.

The exercise, entitled "Ocean Guardian III," involved members of the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Coast Guard, police tactical units, marine divers and local firefighters.

Coast guard spokesman Brian Stone told The Canadian Press the exercise took place aboard the Marine Atlantic ferry in the Bay of Islands area, about 90 kilometres off Corner Brook.

The injured were onboard a motorized lifeboat when fiberglass on the covered vessel caught fire, Stone said.

Two of the injured were transported by a Cormorant search and rescue helicopter to a Corner Brook hospital while nineteen others were taken ashore by boat and transferred to hospital by land.

Stone told CP he couldn't verify which agency the injured worked for.

The fictitious event began Wednesday and was scheduled to unfold over 24 hours.

The scenario began with a call to authorities of a ferry dead in the water and quickly escalated to a hostage situation aboard the hijacked vessel.

About 48 different agencies took part in "Ocean Guardian III" exercise. Feedback from all participating agencies will be gathered and analyzed in an effort to detect any flaws in their operating procedures.

With files from The Canadian Press

 

[Mike Baker]

It was all over the radio today. Thankfully, no one died.

 

[geo]

Jumpin' Jayzus dem Newfoundlanders put a lot of realism in their exercises.
and for 21 Newfoundlanders to volunteer to get hospitalized?  that's dedication

Get well soon to the salt of the earth

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Article Link

2 airlifted after N.L. mock disaster goes awry
Last Updated: Thursday, September 27, 2007 | 10:53 PM NT
CBC News
A mock disaster turned frighteningly real in western Newfoundland Thursday, as crews that had been rehearsing a massive evacuation dealt with almost two dozen cases of smoke inhalation.

The RCMP vessel Murray transported eight of the 19 exercise participants who suffered smoke inhalation while riding in a lifeboat during a mock disaster exercise in western Newfoundland. Two of the more seriously hurt were airlifted to hospital.
(Cory Hurley/Canadian Press)
Search and rescue technicians aboard a Cormorant helicopter airlifted two people, one of whom is in serious condition, CBC Television reporter Peter Gullage said.

Smoke overwhelmed a number of participants in the exercise, and 21 were sent to hospital for treatment.

"The drill turned from make believe to very real," said Gullage, from aboard one of the vessels in the Bay of Islands, near Corner Brook.

Numerous authorities had been taking part in an emergency preparedness exercise.

"We don't have all the information on how it happened right now. Apparently it was smoke from a lifeboat was the cause of it," Brian Stone, superintendent of Maritime Search and Rescue, said Thursday afternoon.

Stone said officials believe that some of the fibreglass on the lifeboat had started smoking, overwhelming its occupants.

An investigation was launched immediately, while the remainder of the exercise was cancelled.

The exercise — in which participants were simulating an at-sea explosion aboard a Marine Atlantic ferry — ran into trouble after a lifeboat was launched from the Leif Ericson.

The rush of injured participants to Western Regional Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook prompted officials to close non-urgent admissions to the hospital for several hours.

As of early Wednesday evening, officials were planning to fly three patients for further treatment to St. John's. 

Gullage said crews shifted seamlessly from a simulated emergency to a genuine one, although some participants were not aware that the stakes had become very real.

Calls were made over emergency airwaves for oxygen supplies, he said.

The exercise involved Marine Atlantic ferries, as well as HMCS Moncton and Canadian Coast Guard personnel.

A key component of the exercise, Gullage said, was a fake explosion. He had been shooting the exercise for an upcoming report.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Arcticle Linke

Two remain in hospital following mishap off N.L. during mock disaster
Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 | 8:22 AM ET
Canadian Press: THE CANADIAN PRESS
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Two people remain in hospital today in St. John's, N.L., one day after a search and rescue exercise that went horribly wrong made two dozen people ill.

The Eastern Health district says of the three people admitted Thursday, one is in stable condition, one will likely be released later today, and one has been sent home.

Fumes apparently caused 25 people to be taken off a covered life-raft on board a ferry during the mock-disaster exercise Thursday off the west coast of Newfoundland.

Most received care from paramedics in nearby Corner Brook.

Ferry owner Marine Atlantic says the fumes appear to have come from the life-raft's exhaust.

The ferry service says an investigation will be held into what went wrong.

The Eastern Health district would not confirm today what the patients were being treated for.

But a doctor said Thursday there were concerns about smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The exercise involved about 400 people dealing with a mock disaster staged aboard the MV Leif Ericson in the Bay of Islands, about 90 kilometres from Corner Brook.