VIDEO: Business Explosion Drill Help Columbus EMA Practice Protocol

By: Salena Schaffer

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)-

If you were anywhere out on highway 373 today you may have seen some different types of emergency vehicles out there…

Not to worry though, Lowndes County Emergency Management agency held a functional exercise out there.

Today they tested their readiness and capabilities in the event of a real emergency situation.

It could happen.

And, it has. Just last month in Georgia an explosion ripped a hole in the roof of a business and sends victims to the hospital.

Here in Lowndes County the EMA carries out drills throughout the year to make sure their first responders are ready and capable.

“It was to test the communication and response times of the multiple agencies including the bmh ambulance service, helicopters, anybody that could respond.” said Chief Deputy Marc Maley.

That includes a team from the base.

“This incident was unique in that it involved not only the local Lowndes county responders… it also involved our federal assets responding off post from the air base which is a rarity.” said Duane Hughes.

Duane Hughes, the Assistant Fire Chief at Columbus Fire Department says communication is their biggest problem because each agency uses a different frequency.

He also mentioned that the chain of command was hard to follow….

“One of the other things we saw happen was who has jurisdiction and who actually has control of the scene when you have all these agencies responding.” said Hughes.

The scenario today was like the one in Georgia, a business explosion with both casualties and fatalities.

Part of the first responders was Baptist Medical,

“They were involved basically to see to what extent they can handle a high volume and when that is excEeded what do they do? Do they reach out to other hospitals and what’s the protocol for that?” said Hughes.

Overall, the team feels as though the drill was a success,

“I think it exposed some weaknesses in agreements that have been made in the past, but it also strengthened the relationship and hopefully these exercises of this kinds will continue in the future and only improve us for the community.” said Hughes.