Dannevirke: Bus carnage an exercise in teamwork

Emergency services try to get a passenger from a car in the creek in Christian St during the exercise.

A school bus going out of control and ploughing into two cars resulting in multiple injuries was the scenario for a major emergency services exercise in Dannevirke last Tuesday night.

The carnage on Christian St exercise was set up by Dannevirke volunteer firefighter James Kendrick and its value became real for a fire crew who a day later attended the head-on crash in the Manawatu Gorge which resulted in the death of Woodville's Mavis McLean.

"This shows fire crews from around the district can work alongside other agencies and an exercise like this gives firefighters the opportunity to work with St John staff," Pete Feierabend, the Dannevirke deputy fire chief said.

With 30 firefighters from Dannevirke, Norsewood, Ormondville and Woodville taking part, supported by two ambulance crews, Mr Feierabend said he was happy with the outcome.

"If we faced a real situation then we would be bringing in choppers from Wellington, Palmerston North and the Hawke's Bay to fly the most serious to hospital."

Mr Feierabend said during the debrief there would be discussions on how everyone can work to make things even better.

"It's been a learning exercise and has highlighted one or two things we will work on but overall it's been a very good exercise. It's been good to work with other fire brigades and get a feeling as to how they work."

With 34 children on the school bus, complete with gaping wounds, fractured limbs and blood oozing from injuries, the work done by St John staff to prepare for the exercise was obvious. The make up was startling.

Other wounded lay under the bus, in two cars and on the road, while Woodville's Annie Sowry had made a lucky escape from her burning car, searching for her dog Sooty.

"It's all go tonight," Mr Kendrick said.

Vehicles from Danline and Hamish Schmidt helped make the exercise real and the firefighters not only dealt with the injured, they were also going to plant a couple of kowhai trees to plug a gap where some branches had been removed during the rescue of those trapped in a car in the creek.