Mock plane crash tests EMT trainees
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Quick treatment Emergency Medical Technician students Corey Bellino, left, and John Keller put a collar on "victim" Chelsea Oestreich before moving her to a backboard during an exercise testing the EMT students. The exercise was held at Mustang Beach Airport on Saturday, Jan. 13.

A plane landing at Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas went out of control at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, hitting a fuel tank and starting a fire. At least, that was the scenario that faced students in the Port Aransas Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course when they reported in on Saturday.

According to the scenario, one person died at the scene and four others suffered injuries ranging from burns to a broken leg.

Moreover, once the students got the airport disaster taken care of, they found their day wasn't over yet.

An unidentified man who had been drinking and taking drugs tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head.

A woman being arrested by Port Aransas police for public intoxication became belligerent and ill and tried to take a swing at the arresting officers.

Serious injuries Volunteer Freddy Williams gets "injured" by moulage artist Janet Noel at the scene of the airport "disaster" Saturday morning. Williams had burns and contusions on his face, arm and a leg before Noel was finished with him.

Instructors and volunteer "victims" reported to the airport well ahead of the scheduled "disaster" to set the scene. That included moulage makeup by Janet Noel, who took a Texas Department of Health course in making wounds look realistic.

Part of the moulage kit includes pre-formed and colored burns and other traumas. It also contains makeup used to create burns, abrasions and other injuries. Chelsea Oestreich, for instance, sported a broken bone on her right leg, protruding through her jeans. Freddy Williams suffered from facial burns and contusions. Chris Shanklin, the "pilot" of the plane, had head injuries that included fluid leaking from one ear.

"Awwwwww, don't put it in my ear," Shanklin pleaded with Noel during his make-up time.

Nothing doing. Squirt. Ewwwww.

Even so, Shanklin was better off than Jerry Foley, who "died" at the scene.

Suicide attempt EMT trainee Joseph Del Frate, left, approaches with caution as "suicidal" Dwight Kirkham, right, argues with him. Students had to calm Kirkham, whose scenario represented him as drunk and high on medications; he also had a "loaded" pistol on the table in front of him.

Students, who arrived in an ambulance with siren wailing, had to decide quickly which victims needed treatment most and then ensure they got the right treatment. In at least one case that included calling in the HALO Flight emergency medical helicopter from Corpus Christi to reduce time spent getting the victim to the hospital.

(HALO Flight didn't really respond, since the actual message was never sent. Students didn't know that, however.)

While test scenarios can never reproduce the feel and adrenaline of an actual accident, they get students accustomed to making quick and accurate decisions. Those decisions were critiqued back at EMS headquarters once the "incident" was declared closed.

It was then that students learned that Dwight Kirkham had been drinking and taking medications and had tried to shoot himself in the head. (He only grazed himself, but the wound required treatment - again, enter moulage artist Jan Noel.)

Stretcher, quick! EMT student Candace Rodriguez hustles a stretcher from an ambulance toward victims at a "disaster" Saturday morning at Mustang Beach Airport. A test for those taking the EMT course in Port Aransas, the "disaster" ended in one person "dead" and four others "injured."

Students had to approach the scene behind a police officer, who talked Kirkham into giving up the gun after a lengthy discussion. Regardless, Kirkham remained argumentative, and his wife - played by EMT Kristen Adams - berated students for not taking better care of her "husband."

It's all part of the 4 ½-month-long course that aims at putting students in a position to pass the Texas Department of Health exam and receive their cards certifying them as basic EMTs. As of Saturday, they had only two weeks to go before the end of course.

Once they receive their EMT-Basic certification, they can study more to upgrade to EMT-Intermediate, and from the become Paramedics, the top level.

The course is offered in Port Aransas every other year.

"We tried offering it annually, but we simply didn't get enough students," said Yancey Gillespie, Port Aransas Emergency Medical Services (EMS) director.