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It started out like any typical Tuesday afternoon at the Communi- ty Memorial Hospital in Port Perry. But just before 3:00 p.m., the hallways in the maternity depart- ment suddenly filled with smoke, patients started to scream in terror. Patients (staff volunteers) filled rooms. Wr Ras revere the fire alarm clanged and the nur- sing staff converged on several rooms to lead and carry patients to safety. Within minutes, the entire mater- nity wing area of the hospital was Cr were evacua ad from the smoke- The lawn outside the hospital was used as an evacuation area for the patients. er blanketed in smoke so thick visibili- ty was reduced to zero, members of the Scugog Fire department wear- ing portable oxygen packs and masks moved through the smoke- filled halls to locate the source of the smoke and put the fire out. It looked like a real emergency and hospital staff reacted like it was a life and death situation. But the "smoke" was manufac- tured by a device used by theatrical companies and amid all the hustle and bustle, several "observers' stood calmly in the halls taking notes. This was a mock fire and evacua- tion. The screaming patients were actually hospital staff who had volunteered to act the parts. Betty Hodgins, director of special services at the hospital said the pur- poses of the exercise was to give staff a chance to react to an emergency and to co-ordinate ef- forts with the local police, fire and ambulance departments. "We feel it went very well. It was .a good learning experience for the staff,' said Ms. Hodgins after the exercise was over. PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, September 23, 1986 -- 3 - Hospital staff hopping at mock fire Hospital staff and the team of observers will be comparing notes on what they saw and one recom- mendation that likely will be made is, the need for some kind of central command area to be set up in an emergency situation with an overall co-ordinator. This exercise involved only six rooms in the hospital. Staff knew in advance that some kind of emergen- cy would be staged, but the staff did not know the details. The evacuation of the "'patients" in the six rooms in- volved moving them to safety on the south lawn of the hospital, or to hospital areas not affected by the thick smoke. Ms. Hodgins told the Star that for obvious reasons, it is not possible for the hospital to conduct a complete evacuation of all rooms. However, she said as an on-going training program, a similar exer- cise will be carried out again, like- ly next year. The thick smoke in last week's mock exercise provided a dramatic and realistic example of what hospital staff would be facing in the event of a real-life emergency. . we SC WRI Observers watched the pro- ceedings carefully and kept notes on the exercise. 8alY » PETITE P PONTIAC BUICK LIMITED 10 VANEDWARD DRIVE, PORT PERRY - 985-8474 ' "Serving the Community since 1976." Great Savings ... -- on all new '86 Pontiacs, Buicks & GMC Trucks End of Model Savings ... -- on Demonstrators and Company Cars Lowest Prices Ever ... -- to be offered on current 1986 model inventory FINANCE RATES as low as ... .8%0 selected models Top Trade-In Allowances - On The Spot Financing HOURS: Mon. to Thurs. 9-9; Fri. 9-5:30; Sat. 9-4 Drive a little further ... Save a lot more BE { 7 £ by 3 aa RE ow