Bus Crash Training Tests First Responders

A worse-case scenario unfolded at Gulf High School in New Port Richey on March 27. A school bus flipped on its side, trapping 50 students and killing the bus driver. Emergency responders had to cut a hole in the roof to extract the students. This crash, however, was a fake put on as a disaster preparedness drill. The Pasco Sheriff's Office, Pasco Fire Rescue, Community Hospital, Pasco Emergency Management, the Pasco School Board, New Port Richey Police and New Port Richey Fire Rescue teamed up with Gulf High students to stage a mass casualty emergency training exercise of an overturned school bus accident injuring 40-50 students. The focus of this exercise allowed each agency to pinpoint areas of improvement, as well as assess the cooperation of first responders tackling the catastrophe.

Once the training commenced and students were being removed from the bus by deputies and fire rescue, they were transported to Community Hospital. Each student was given a specific medical condition that resulted from the crash to communicate to the emergency room personnel. Community Hospital used this training to assess how they would handle an influx of 40 or more patients into their emergency room from a disaster.

At the post-training debriefing, discussions centered on what was done correctly and what could be improved. All parties involved had their chance to voice their opinions. The overall feeling among agencies was that communication issues and handling parents rushing on scene were areas that need improvement. Students were most impressed by the quickness and professionalism of the first responders and that Community Hospital found room to improve the flow of traffic in their parking lot in such a large-scale emergency. Organizing personnel for the Pasco Sheriff's Office were Lt. Brian Prescott and Sgt. Kurt Pinto. Overall, all parties involved saw the exercise as a great training opportunity and a chance to discuss improvements to an already effective response system. Prescott was happy with the teamwork among agencies. "We are transporting the most precious resource on the planet. We won't stop until we have perfection."