LOCAL
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Need for depot
ambulance plan outlined
By AMYJO BROWN
of the East Oregonian
ajbrown@eastoregonian.com
HERMISTON — A new plan
is needed for getting ambulances to the Umatilla Chemical Depot in the event
of a chemical agent release, Don Smythe, depot coordinator for the Chemical
Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, told the CSEPP Governing Board
Thursday.
The issue was highlighted during the annual CSEPP drill last week,
which tested the response of local emergency personnel in a community-wide
emergency.
“During the exercise, we determined that the cities of Hermiston
and Stanfield would not have the resources to send an ambulance to the depot,”
Smythe said.
Oregon’s requirements for ambulance drivers make it difficult to
keep qualified medic personnel on the depot, which has a high turnover of
soldiers and workers, Smythe said.
To alleviate the problem, Hermiston and Stanfield have a legal agreement
with the depot to provide ambulance services both during normal operating
days and in the event of a community-wide emergency, said Jim Stearns, Hermiston
fire chief.
But he added that the agreement contains the caveat that community
members, who pay for the services, must have first right to the services.
The problem regarding the distribution of resources came about when
local fire and police personnel found themselves responding to a real-world
motor vehicle accident at the same time they were supposed to be responding
to a mock motor vehicle accident which was part of the exercise. As players
in the drill, depot workers also called at about that time to request an
ambulance transport for “injured workers.”
“We said ‘no’ based on the idea that the community must come first,”
Stearns said.
The mix of mock and real incidents that occurred during the community-wide
test showed that “there is no guarantee we will be able to provide an ambulance
to the depot,” he said.
Smythe said depot officials are looking at a number of solutions
to the problem, including possibly supplementing the cities’ services.