Sarah Moffitt, The Park Record
Posted: 04/17/2012 04:28:10 PM MDT
Only an hour after Summit County’s mock earthquake occurred on Tuesday, emergency officials had an Emergency Operation Center running and the Park City Fire Department was assessing the hypothetical damage on Main Street.
Park City City Manager Tom Bakaly, and acting EOC operations manager, said city officials’ response to the Shake Out, a statewide earthquake drill that occurred at 10:15 a.m., went off without a hitch.
“We cleared the Marsac building and had the EOC up and running in 35 minutes,” he said. “I am assisting between operations and policy makers. The City Council will also come to the EOC and serve as the policy group.”
Park City’s Emergency Operation’s Director Hugh Daniels said the situation was “controlled chaos” and that his department and the state would be giving the emergency officials problems to deal with throughout the day.
“When it comes to earthquakes, you are in it for a while, so we will be rotating staff throughout the day and making sure everyone has the training and practice,” he said.
The Park City Police, Summit County Sheriff’s Department and Park City Fire District were all conducting operations out of the EOC, a room inside the Park City Police Station. Another EOC serving the East Side of Summit County was run out of the Kamas Search and Rescue building.
Park City Fire Chief Paul Hewitt responded to mock scenarios in the EOC, asking for backup ambulances from the North Summit Fire District and informing other officials that the Park City Medical Center was full. The good news, he said, was that Interstate 80 had not been blocked during the mock-quake.
Park City Fire District Battalion Chief Bob Evans said the fire fighters had gone into Park City and performed “windshield checks” to make sure everything was stable and then responded to staged collapses.
One such staged collapse took place behind the fire station on Rasmussen Road. Firefighters were told that three victims were trapped in the practice rubble pile and one was still alive and needed to be rescued. Fire fighters used torches and lifts to cut through the metal and cement in an attempt to reach the victim.
Schools around Summit County also took part in the day’s events, practicing, drop, cover and hold on under their desks and reunification drills.
For more information on what to do in case of an earthquake visit www.summitcountyhealth.org/adults/emergency-preparedness
Be Ready Utah: www.bereadyutah.com
Utah Seismic Safety Commission: www.ussc.utah.gov
Structural Engineers Association of Utah: www.seau.org
- Resources
- Library
- Scroll to existing buildings (click on view all)
- Here you will find numerous articles and handouts, including the Utah Guide for Seismic Improvement of URM Dwellings
Did You Feel It?: www.earthquake.usgs.gov/dyfi/
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