Volunteers, first responders participate in mass casualty training
Mass casualty training on UW campus designed to be as real life as possible
MADISON, Wis. — A mass casualty training exercise at Camp Randall Stadium Thursday morning shut down a section of Monroe Street.
Hundreds of volunteers worked with first responders to simulate a bomb going off at the stadium. The training exercise gave those involved a chance to develop skills they hope they never have to use.
Operation Wisconsin Dawn started with some smoke rising near Camp Randall around 7 a.m., followed by first responders rushing to the aid of victims.
“As law enforcement we have an obligation to be ready and prepared for something like this,” University of Wisconsin Police Department spokesman Marc Lovicott said. “And this gets our officers involved in a scenario that we make as real as possible with victims and everything else.”
More than 400 people and numerous agencies joined forces in the exercise, which was designed to be as realistic as possible.
“It really pushes their limits to see what they can handle and what we need to improve on. Our victims were covered in makeup to make them appear as if they had severe injuries or fatalities,” Lovicott said.
Once the simulate scene was secure the investigative phase started up with K-9 units scouring the scene and police searching for those responsible.
“It’s not just responding tactically, they’re working through this case, and the people who are organizing are throwing different scenarios at them,” Lovicott said.
A report will be released on what went right and what needed work.
“We’ll move forward from there and make some improvements and change some things around so we’re ready, God forbid, if something were to happen here like this in Madison,” Lovicott said.
Training exercises like this are viewed as vitally important, especially since the Boston Marathon bombing.
The 1400 block of Monroe Street was shut down through 5 p.m. for the training, but is now open to traffic.
