Emergency Drill Needs Volunteer Victims

nne Arundel County health and safety first responders are ready to train for a large-scale hazardous material disaster—but they need your help.

The Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is looking for 50 to 100 volunteers to help with the annual crisis simulation exercise.

The emergency shelter exercise is set to take place on June 17 from 8 a.m. to noon at Arundel High School.

This year’s simulation will depict a disaster yet to be determined, where victims are forced from their homes and seek medical aid at a shelter.

Volunteers will have a chance to get "made up" to depict various injuries and disabilities.

According to Community Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator Karen Sank, the June disaster simulation will be a partnership between the Anne Arundel County Health Department, American Red Cross and Animal Control.

Sank said in March 2010, OEM held an exercise involving a bombing on a light rail car. OEM teamed up with the MTA and Baltimore Washington Medical Center. This gave the hospital a chance to test their surge capacity. Sank said more than 400 people participated.

“Almost 200 of those people were volunteers,” Sank said.

Sank said there’s an extra effort to recruit volunteers with special needs and English as a second language.

“Our medics need to be ready to help anyone, even if they don’t speak the same language,” Sank said.

Volunteers younger than 18 will need to be accompanied by a parent.

If you are interested in volunteering to take part in the exercise, contact Karen Sank at 410-222-0611 of fdsank00@aacounty.org for more information.