By Marcus Constantino
The Charleston Daily Mail
GUTHRIE, W.Va. — The buzz of first responders’ radios was replaced with a different kind of buzz Thursday as the state Department of Agriculture hosted a multi-agency training session on responding to accidents involving bees and other stinging insects.
About 130,000 bees were brought to the Gus R. Douglass Agriculture Center in Guthrie, and first responders were put through mock scenarios, Department of Agriculture spokesman Buddy Davidson said.
“The training is basically to help them become a little more comfortable being able to go in and trust the bee suits, and get really up close and personal to these bees, knowing that the equipment they have will protect them so they can go in and do the rescue,” Davidson said.
Billions of bees are transported through the Kanawha Valley on interstate highways every year to pollinate crops across the country, said Paul Poling, an apiarist with the Department of Agriculture.
“We’ve increased the number of bees that are being transported around West Virginia throughout the year many fold from what we used to,” Poling said. “Over 4,000 colonies going out into California, which equals probably about 11 or 12 semi-truckloads, and we have trucks that are moving bees almost every other week throughout the summer for pollinating watermelons, pumpkins and squash.”
Dr. William H. Kern Jr., with the University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Department, hosted training sessions with first responders Wednesday night and Thursday morning to prepare them for accident simulations later Thursday.
“We had a session (Wednesday) night that was some basics of bees and a little honey tasting event,” Davidson said. “This morning, we basically talked about the things we’re actually doing this afternoon. What types of foam to use, how to approach wreck sites, things like that.”
Firefighters, police officers and EMS workers were exposed to a variety of bee-related accident mock-ups Thursday afternoon, including a vehicle crash involving colonies of bees.
Bob Sharp, chief of operations for the Charleston Fire Department, was one of many area first responders who donned protective suits and walked into swarms of agitated bees during the training session. The bees swarmed angrily in front of his protective mesh helmet, filling the air with a loud, high-pitched buzz.
“The bees, they go right for your face, because when you exhale carbon dioxide, they key in on that,” Sharp recounted. “They just come right at you and they hit you in the face. They were like, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!’ Right in my face.”
Sharp learned how to treat bee stings and remove stingers properly, as well as how to safely rescue victims from a bee swarm. Sharp said he would pass on what he learned to his firefighters.
“Any part of your body that’s exposed, the bee will find it and will sting you,” Sharp said. “That’s good to know, and we will be able to pass on these tips to the rest of the fire department.”
Sharp also learned that in the event of an emergency, bees can be killed with foam, a fire-fighting substance all of Charleston’s fire engines are equipped with.
While area firefighters and other first responders are not equipped with bee suits, Sharp said firefighters’ bunker gear can be sealed to keep bees from reaching the skin.
But Poling said that in the event of an accident involving bees, members of the public should leave it to emergency responders to retrieve and assist victims.
“If you saw someone who was in an accident and you saw these insects flying around, don’t get out of your vehicle,” Poling said.
“I know your first thoughts are to go over there and try to provide some assistance to that person, but you’re actually going to become a victim yourself. Calling 911 and getting it reported is the best thing someone in the public could do.”
Poling said the Department of Agriculture filmed a training video during the two-day seminar to aid other West Virginia emergency responders. He said the video should be available in the coming months.
Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers