Posted at: 07/19/2009 11:07 PM
By: Lorilyn Prestidge

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Iowa Officials Stage Disaster at Riceville High School

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- They say practice makes perfect and that’s what first responders in Iowa were working on today.
    
They staged an explosion at Riceville High School so that area fire departments, police, and EMS can prepare for the real thing.

This as real as any disaster could be.

"An explosion in the school system, yes this could happen in Riceville," said Ray Huftalin, the EMA Coordinator for Mitchell and Worth County.

And it could happen anywhere.

First responders say disasters are especially difficult.

"It's a matter of taking the worst victims first and that's really hard for people, because you have people that are awake and talking that really could die and you really need to get those to the hospital first and the others are yelling, saying I'm hurt too," said Paramedic Specialist Nancy Kephart.

And that's where quick thinking comes in, something that doesn't always come naturally.

"Practice, practice, practice," said Huftalin.

"I think we always question ourselves whether we do enough, that's part of being good, questioning yourself, “What can I do better?," said Kephart.

This drill is giving these first responders the experience they need.

"It's something that we need to do, just one of those steps we have to take," said Kyle Guertin of Planned First Training.

This is Guertin's first training.

"Something like this just really helps me out, really made me understand better,” said Guertin.

"It's hands on.  It's a lot better than classroom training, and we will try and pickup what went wrong, and try and improve on those things,” said Huftalin.

And they say the public can learn from this as well.

"Every citizen should have a plan, whether it's in their home or if you are stranded in your auto on the side of the road,” said Huftalin.

"The children need to know how to dial 911, as well as the parents," said Kephart.

"Do I have stuff in the basement that I could use for the first twenty four hours if a first responder can't get there?,” said Huftalin.

And they hope this preparation helps saves lives.
    
St. Ansgar Fire, Meyer Fire, Riceville Fire Department and Police, and the Howard and Mitchell Sheriff’s Office are just a few of the departments that participated in today's drill.