• Tara Bozick •
• Originally published January 24, 2009 at 11:21 p.m., updated January 24, 2009 at 11:21 p.m.

A semi-tractor trailer's brakes fail and the truck slams into the side of a building. Six people may be seriously hurt inside.

Another incident has tied up the city's first responders. That's when the Community Emergency Response Team may assist until help can arrive.

Sixteen students, who volunteered for training, responded to such a fictional scenario at the Dr. Pattie Dodson Public Health Center. After the simulation, 20 residents graduated from Victoria City-County Emergency Management's first emergency response training program on Saturday.

The main focus of the program, which hopes to conduct monthly classes, will be to train volunteers to help out with disasters like hurricanes, a mass outbreak of influenza or even a building collapse, Rick McBrayer, deputy emergency management coordinator, said.

Three days of training will enable residents not only to help themselves and families in emergency situations, but also others in the community.

Yet, only practice makes perfect and simulation exercises helped the first group of students understand the chaotic nature of disaster response.

Wearing a green helmet and safety vest, David Fossati smothered a fire for the first time with an extinguisher so that search and rescue teams could enter the Red Cross area of the public health center.

Fossati, a sales manager from Victoria, volunteered his time to learn how to act in case he's ever needed.

"If a disaster comes, our trained people are going to need all the help they can get," he said. "Hopefully, we can help them out."

The first search and rescue team entered the dark offices of the shaken building, where team members knew six people could be stuck inside. The first team becomes overwhelmed with finding injured bodies, so a second team enters the scene to better assess the injuries when taking the patients to the triage station.

"Remember, it's the greatest amount of good in the shortest amount of time," observer Jeb Lacey, emergency management coordinator, calls out to the teams.

Down the dimly lit hallway, the triage team starts prioritizing the injured as immediate, delayed or morgue, meaning dead.

Triage team leader Jeanie Fossati calls out the extent of each patient's injuries and her team members get to work.

Carol Kopec gets a 300-pound man with blood spurting from his leg and she knows it's an arterial bleed. When pressure isn't enough, she decides to use a tourniquet.

"This patient is incoherent. He's now in shock," Kopec said. "We need an ambulance."

Before Kopec can determine how close to death this man might be, two more patients arrive to the station. The incident commander keeps calling Jeanie Fossati to know what resources might be needed.

She keeps count of the patients to make sure teams rescued everyone and decides three people need immediate assistance. One woman has minor injuries and the others are dead.

Back in the classroom, the students evaluate their performance.

"It was more stressful than you would think because you are dealing with people's lives," Kopec said.

Once more patients started coming, though, her instincts kicked in.

"Guess what, guys? It's always chaos," McBrayer said. "It's organized chaos."

While the teams experienced some "hiccups," they'll continue working on their communication and rescue skills, he said.

Lacey reminded the students to overcome their desire to help when conducting the search process. Although someone seems seriously injured, others might be close to death elsewhere.

Before assessing injuries and the extent of the disaster, the teams need to know the full scope of the situation, Lacey said.

"You can't save everybody. Get the most people you can," Tim Hunter, training officer for the Victoria Fire Department added. "You don't want to sacrifice 100 to save one."

• HOW TO JOIN

  Emergency Management still needs volunteers to learn how to respond in emergency situations. Classes will be offered until hurricane season begins.

  For more information about Victoria's Community Emergency Response Team or to take a class, call Lorrinda ...

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HOW TO JOIN

Emergency Management still needs volunteers to learn how to respond in emergency situations. Classes will be offered until hurricane season begins.

For more information about Victoria's Community Emergency Response Team or to take a class, call Lorrinda Osborne at 361-485-3362.

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