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Great Basin College drill gave students hands-on training but exposed communications gaps
Summary
A multi-agency drill on April 24 at Great Basin College simulated a heat-wave mass casualty and vehicle crash; organizers said the exercise provided valuable training for students and responders but revealed failures in radio/hospital communications that require follow-up.
Jamie Carlson of Great Basin College reported on an April 24 disaster day drill that simulated a heat wave causing multiple patient casualties and a vehicle crash shortly after a mass-casualty call.
"We ran it on the April 24... We had a heat wave... We had a vehicle crash at the same time... Our biggest issue we found was our communication," Carlson said, describing participation by Elko City Fire, Elko County Sheriff, Nevada Gold Mines, MedEx, hospital partners and nursing students who simulated receiving and stabilizing patients.
Carlson and other participants said the exercise intentionally stressed the system: hospitals and green-stabilization centers accepted patients, dispatch handled calls but radios on some frequencies failed to reach hospitals. Committee members suggested staff follow up with local communications technicians and county dispatch to diagnose whether the problem was hospital-side repeaters or interagency frequencies.
The drill was judged valuable for training and interagency coordination despite the communications shortfall; planners flagged the issue for remedial action rather than as a failed exercise outcome.
