On Sept. 20, Freeport School District #145 held a training to help first responders learn how to deal with emergencies involving school buses at the suggestion of a bus driver who is also a first responder. The scenario involved a mass casualty drill that included a school bus accident.
PHOTOS: Illinois district conducts training for first responders
Dallas Pieper, director of transportation at the district, coordinated with the local emergency management agency, fire department, law enforcement, hospital and students from a school's drama department to create the scenario. An "intersection" where the accident took place was staged at the local fairgrounds and included an overturned bus with kids trapped inside.
As part of the drill, responders were told there was a 911 call about a bus accident. The different agencies estimated about six to eight minutes to respond to the accident in real time.
Just as the fire department visits schools to learn how they are laid out, Freeport's transportation department felt it needed to make sure firefighters understand how the school bus is laid out and that its construction is very different from a semi or passenger car, Pieper said. The training gave the firefighters more of a sense of just how different it is, she added.
Pieper added that the first saw that the firefighters used was demolished within seconds of trying to cut into the bus.
Students from the school's drama department were staged inside and around the bus, playing injured passengers.
Students were transported via ambulance and a bus that took those with less serious injuries to the hospital.
The drill even included a helicopter, since one might be needed to support students in critical condition in case of an actual accident.