At 9:15am on Sunday morning, Center Moriches volunteers were alerted to respond to a fire at the Center Moriches High School on Frowein road. Upon arriving on scene the 1st due engine crew reported heavy smoke in the school and requested mutual aid from several surrounding departments.

The smoke and fire however were not real, it was only a drill. The training exercise brought together surrounding fire departments and emergency medical service agencies from the local area in an Mass Casualty Incident training exercise.

The scenario was a science experiment gone wrong, a chemical reaction in one of the schools chemistry laboratories causing an explosion and fire. This fire sent thick smoke all through the school and overcame numerous students in the building. Responding firefighters were charged with the responsibility of implementing a plan of attack, locating the fire and searching for any victims.

Initial crews entering the smoky school encountered several challenges, including locked doors and hose lines too short to reach the simulated fire. As they worked to overcome each obstacle, search crews searched the school for victims, finding and rescuing each one.

This was a great opportunity to educate and prepare first responders for large scale incidents, and the coordinated effort it takes to deal with such a large volume of emergency personnel and vehicles. Practice like this keeps firefighters sharp and ready to respond to any type of emergency. It's important for the different fire departments to be able to work together as one team in the event of a large incident like this.

The Center Moriches Fire Department would like to thank the Center Moriches School District for allowing us to utilize the High School for the drill.

Click on the link to watch firefighters searching the smoke filled school:

http://www.youtube.com/centermorichesfd#p/a/f/0/Vk10-Utd_Wo