For Immediate Release
From: Douglas County Search and Rescue
Contact: Shawn Strain, Public Information Officer
(720)515-5437 / dcsarss@yahoo.com
TRAINING EXERCISE SIMULATING A MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT
Douglas County, CO – on Saturday October 17, 2015 at 08:30 am Douglas County Search and Rescue (DCSAR), will be conducting a training exercise at Castlewood Canyon State Park, 2989 State Highway 83, Franktown, CO 80116. Members of the public should not be alarmed by the presence of Search and Rescue emergency vehicles, ‘patients’ being carried out, or treated at the climbers trail head area.
The scenario will consist of a large group of individuals that succumbed to the effects of a lightning strike. The“victims” will have Theatrical make-up applied to create realistic looking injuries and will be acting out their injuries, to add to the realism of this staged event.
The team will respond to the scene, assess the situation, treat the wounded and organize relief efforts, prioritizing and managing the crisis amidst the chaos. This will facilitate valuable medical and logistics training for the team which will then be further reviewed in a constant effort to improve response methods.
Douglas County Search and Rescue, is a non-profit, all volunteer team dedicated to providing search, rescue, and emergency response to the citizens of Douglas County, Colorado.
MEDIA INFORMATION
In a past exercise the media was granted access into the scenario, to video and observe. After the scenario several team members were interviewed as well. We will make reasonable accommodations to grant the same access, in areas that will not jeopardize safety.
The exercise will be conducted at the west end of the park. You will need to go to the northwest entrance off of Highway 86 on Castlewood Canyon Road, not the east entrance.
From 2005 to 2014, Colorado was the third highest in the nation for lightning caused fatalities, with 17 people killed by lightning. SOURCE: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/media.shtml
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DouglasCountySearchAndRescue
Twitter: @DCSARPIO