Yet, they wanted to be prepared just in case patients from a crop dusting accident arrived at HSHS St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur after being sprayed with toxic chemicals while detasseling corn.
“We do this type of training several times a year,” Chief Tom Williams of the South Wheatland Fire Department. “It's something we can't do too much of.”
The goal for emergency responders is to contain anyone exposed to the chemicals before the problem spreads, preferably assessing them at the site of the incident, said Battalion Chief Mike McGeehon of the Decatur Fire Department.
“Somebody could slip through the crack,” McGeehon said. “We try to catch them if we can.”
The firefighters, including from all the departments in Macon County along with others from Piatt and DeWitt counties, practiced setting up and using a Department of Homeland Security decontamination tent provided by the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, or MABIS-46.
The response to a call at St. Mary's would start with the Decatur and South Wheatland fire departments, said Bill Wood, an emergency management specialist at the hospital. He said South Wheatland stores the equipment partially because of its proximity to St. Mary's.
Hickory Point Fire Department would be responsible for providing the equipment for an incident at Decatur Memorial Hospital, Wood said. After the initial response, other fire departments could be called in as needed to provide mutual aid, he said.
“We need people from other fire departments to know what to set up,” Wood said. “These guys want to learn what to do.”
More assistance could be needed as responders are limited to how long they can stay in a hazmat suit, Hickory Point Chief Dennis Downey said.
“We could easily need more people quickly,” Downey said. “We have to be ready for everybody.”
Downey said the system is set up to provide instruction in five different languages. Firefighters practiced assisting children with special needs in order to improve their ability to effectively communicate directions to those they're trying to help.
Wood said some of the firefighters have never seen the equipment in use. Crews from all three of the Decatur Fire Department's shifts have seen the setup, although some were seeing it for the first time during the training exercise, McGeehon said.
Wood said knowing the process of taking patients through the tent from disrobing to rinsing with soap and putting a gown on before going into the hospital for further assessment is important.
Wood said having firefighters able to help with the process saves hospital staff such as nurses from needing to do it and allows them to focus on patient care and other duties inside.
He said the firefighters already have the training so they know what to do in that type of situation.
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