June 5, 2008

TEMS paramedics transported a large number of people to hospital after gunshots rang out between two rival gangs at Wilson Station. The incident caused serious injuries to many innocent bystanders entering and leaving the TTC station.

This was the scenario that 28 new TEMS paramedic recruits had to face as part of a Mass Casualty Incident on June 5, 2008. Held annually for each new batch of paramedics prior to going out to operations, the exercise introduces them to situations they could encounter while working for TEMS. George Eliadis, co-ordinator of the training exercise, was pleased with how the paramedics performed.

“They did a good job,” George said. “This is a bit of a reality check for them. It says, ‘listen, as good as you are, on scenes like this, things don’t go well all the time.’”

The “victims” of the gang clash, volunteers made up of family and friends of TEMS staff, suffered an array of “injuries”. The goal was to make the incident as realistic as possible. Tom Csakvary, one of the first paramedics at Wilson Station, thinks the organizers got the realism part right.

“They did a really good job planning it, getting a good location and being very realistic,” Tom recalled. “In school, you’re in a classroom setting and everything is kind of made up and you just kind of pretend. The realism of this was 2,000-fold; it was very realistic.”

Prior to the arrival of the paramedics on scene, the wounded were given fake gashes, cuts, stab wounds and gunshot wounds. They were also provided with a sheet telling them the extent of their injuries as well as a medical history, describing conditions such as diabetes and allergies to drugs like penicillin. The victims also provided the paramedics with an unexpected challenge; they acted like distraught and injured people.

“I don’t think any of us were prepared for the patients to communicate,” Explained new paramedic Renee Greffe. “We had to tunnel vision into our own patients. You can’t let the other patients get to you.”

Whether it was a gunshot wound or a pregnancy, the paramedics, under the supervision of evaluators, had to effectively and quickly treat each case.

Evaluators also made sure the paramedics treated and transported their patients in the safest way possible. Wilson Station’s layout provided the paramedics with some challenging issues such as many stairwells with patients on them.

“It was difficult carrying all the equipment down,” Tom said. “When I first went down I believe there were three or four patients actually lying on the staircase, with one crew treating a patient at the bottom. We had to navigate around them.”

Renee explained that the more serious patients were toward the back of the training grounds, but there were many other patients on the stairs. “The biggest problem was getting patients up the stairs. They kept grabbing at us.”

Organizers expressed appreciation to all the volunteers and evaluators for taking the time to assist in this vital training exercise. They were also grateful to all the divisions that donated the supplies and equipment.