By Hilary Kindschuh and Algis J. Laukaitis
The Lincoln Journal Star
LINCOLN, Neb. — Norris School District Superintendent Roy Baker and Assistant Superintendent John Skretta headed straight for the scene Monday morning when they learned a district bus with dozens of students aboard had collided with a pickup a few miles from the school.
“I’ve never seen so many fire trucks and rescue units in one place in my life, which was gratifying,” Baker said.
Monday’s crash was a great test of the local disaster plan, and it worked well, said Dr. Ed Mlinek, director of emergency services at BryanLGH Medical Center West. Mlinek credited Lincoln Fire and Rescue, which set up an incident command post at the crash site and victim triage, and the seven rural rescue squads that took injured students to the three Lincoln hospitals.
In addition to staff members at the three hospitals, surgeons who were not on call responded, he said.
When incidents such as Monday’s multiple-injury accident occur, Lancaster County Chief Deputy Sheriff Bill Jarrett said, there is a “cooperative effort” involving the 911 center, law enforcement personnel and the first emergency responders to arrive on scene.
As the first calls for assistance went out Monday shortly after 8 a.m., emergency crews responded from Hickman and Firth - the towns nearest the crash scene at 25th Street and Gage Road — plus Lincoln, Clatonia, Adams, Beatrice, Southwest Rural, Hallam, the Nebraska State Patrol, the Gage County sheriff’s office and StarCare, as well as the Lancaster County sheriff’s office, said Sgt. Andy Stebbing of the Lancaster County sheriff’s office.
When an incident such as Monday’s happens, Jarrett said, the 911 dispatcher who receives the call considers the location when sending emergency responders.
In this case, the crash was more than 20 miles from Lincoln, meaning a longer response time from Lincoln Fire and Rescue, Jarrett said.
“Then they look at (crews closer by). They know Hickman has emergency vehicles, they know Firth has emergency vehicles,” he said.
The dispatcher makes preliminary decisions based on information from people who call in, Jarrett said.
People tell the dispatcher what they see: whether people are unconscious or trapped, or if they seem to be OK, Jarrett said.
“That’s really how this unfolded,” he said. "(We) kept getting bits and pieces from people calling in, and the dispatcher did a really good job keeping people on the line ... and got a really good evaluation from people who called in.”
The secondary coordination comes from the first responders to arrive on scene, who assess the injuries as quickly as possible, Jarrett said.
“The helicopter that was sent — that came directly from the deputy on scene,” Jarrett said.
The first emergency responders determine where to send the victims, depending on the severity of their injuries, he said.
The sheriff’s offices sent deputies to each hospital to find out which children had been sent there and how badly they were injured, Jarrett said. The offices then relayed that information to the school so parents could be informed as quickly as possible.
Today, Jarrett plans to get hold of supervisors who were at the scene to assess the agencies’ response.
“I’m sure some things could have been done better, but with this one, everyone is very pleased with the outcome,” he said.
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