PUEBLO—The Pueblo County Fire Chiefs will be holding a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. This event is designed to test the Pueblo County MCI plan created in 2019 by the Pueblo County Fire Chiefs and updated in 2022.
The exercise is scheduled to start at approximately 9 a.m. and conclude in the early afternoon. The MCI will be evaluated by a countywide group and the Staff from the State of Colorado. Nearly 75 people from more than a dozen first-response agencies in Pueblo County will participate in the exercise.
“This Mass Casualty Incident exercise is an opportunity for us to hone our skills as cooperating emergency respondents and community partners,” said Chief of City of Pueblo Fire Department Barb Huber. “Testing our plan and our emergency operations are important pieces of ensuring we are all prepared when a real-world response is needed.”
The MCI exercise scenario involves a simulated railway accident which includes a bus accident requiring the activation of the Emergency Operation Center, Pueblo County fire agencies and local hospitals.
The public may see exercise-related activity in the downtown area near Midtown Shopping Center. The responders may be dressed in full protective equipment while mock accident victims will receive realistic looking make up. Emergency equipment and vehicles will be deployed to the scene as well as Parkview Health Systems main hospital and St. Mary Corwin Hospital. Helicopters may be present in the area during the exercise.
“The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to join with other community partners to train and test our capabilities in responding to a mass casualty incident,” said Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero. “From the activation of the Emergency Operations Center to the play in the field, this is another great example of how our community comes together to practice and prepare for emergencies.”
For more information on the exercise contact Operations Deputy Chief of the City of Pueblo Fire Department Chris Harner at 719-553-2823 or Fire Chief of Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District and Exercise Director Bryan Ware at 719-485-2367.