SMETHPORT — Officials were pleased with the results of the
simulated emergency disaster drill held Saturday morning
at Lakeview Senior Care and Living Center in Smethport.
Besides the Lakeview staff, the Smethport Fire Department, C.L.
McKeirnan Inc., McKean County 911 Center and McKean County
Emergency Management Agency participated in this coordinated
exercise, which tested preparedness and identified the
responsibilities of individuals and agencies when responding to a
real disaster
“The purpose of this drill was to evaluate our current
emergency evacuation plan and decide if any necessary procedural
changes were to be made,” said Al Jackson, Lakeview’s maintenance
and safety
director.
A change was made to the emergency calling procedure before
Saturday’s exercise, according to Jackson.
“Under the former plan, nurses were the first personnel to be
called. Our new procedure, however, is based on notifying those
staff members who can get here the quickest and that means calling
the workers with Smethport phone numbers,” he said.
Jackson explained that when the alarm is activated, the signal
goes to the alarm company and a communications employee then calls
Lakeview to see if the fire department should respond.
“Even if it is uncertain that a fire company is needed, one will
be called since it is better to err on the side of caution,” said
Jackson.
Using the scenario of a “fire” in the building’s laundry
room, the alarm was turned in shortly after 9 a.m.; it
was determined to summon the fire department. Meanwhile, Lakeview’s
entire staff began evacuating residents and this was
completed within ten minutes. Once outside, the residents were led
and directed to safe distances away from the building and those
areas where the fire apparatus would park. Some residents remained
outside, while others were transported by the Lakeview van
and school busses from C.L. McKeirnan Inc., to the high school
gymnasium, which served as a temporary evacuation center.
Also taken to the center was the residents’ chart and medicine
cart, which was manned at all times through the training. In a real
emergency, it would be necessary to transport this cart to a
temporary location since residents could be forced to live away
from the facility for an indefinite period of time.
Upon arrival at the scene, the Smethport firemen, in full
turnout gear, proceeded to “extinguish” the fire. Chief Roy Burt
manned the incident command center, while Steve Field was
operations officer.
Representatives of the groups that participated in the drill
plan to meet in early June to review the drill.
At the conclusion of this drill, officials shared their comments
with The Era.
Lakeview Adminstrator Scott Christie said, “I was pleased with
our staff’s willingness to participate and come out on a Saturday.
Also, the fire department’s response time was excellent.”
According to Jackson, “Overall, the flow of this exercise was
exactly what we wanted. Our procedure will probably not need
changed since we evacuated the residents in good time.”
McKean County Emergency Management Director Bruce Manning said,
“The evacuation side was good. I was really impressed with the fact
that the medical records and meds cart was manned at all times and
moved to the temporary evacuation center. It would be extremely
important to have these records in case of a real emergency when
residents might have to be hospitalized or be away from the
facility for an extended time.
“The fire department’s response time was good, and the buses
worked well.”
