A conversation at the RAF Marham Families' Day 2004 initiated the short notice Exercise Blueforce Angel, a combined Exercise between the RAF First Response Team, with members from RAF Marham and RAF Honington, Norfolk Constabulary, Norfolk Fire Services and the RAF Search & Rescue Helicopter, to be held outside the old Watton Air Force Camp on Friday 6 August 2004. First Responders were to be used as the casualties, so that they could accurately comment on the treatment that they received during the Exercise, on-lookers were kindly provided by the family members of the First Responders.
The Scenario:
On Friday 6th August 2004 at 10.45 am, whilst out playing with her
friends on her bike, a nine year old child is hit and knocked off her
bike by a speeding car, which crashes into a tree. The accident happened
down the small access road to Watton Married Quarters. The child is run
over and trapped under the car, her bike laying 30 feet away. The three
vehicle occupants are teenagers, the driver, not wearing his seat belt
is knocked unconscious and suffers severe chest and head injuries, and
his legs are trapped under the steering wheel. Again through not wearing
his seat belt the front passenger suffers head and neck injuries
sustained by flying internal vehicle debris, he panics when seeing the
crushed child that they hit and flees from the scene of the accident.
The passenger in the back seat of the car sustains minor whiplash
injuries, though is traumatized by the sight of the crushed child under
the car and is unwilling to get out of the car. The front seat passenger
runs down the road several hundred metres away into the woods and
collapses due to his injuries.
Sequence of Events:
The Emergency Services are called and the Fire and Police Services
swiftly attend. The Ambulance is itself involved in a Road Traffic
Accident (RTA) en-route to the scene and all other medical vehicles are
on call or allocated to other emergencies. A local First Response
Vehicle is detailed to attend the scene and support the on-scene
Emergency staff.
The Fire Service quickly establish the severity of the situation and
request Air Support. The local Air Ambulance Helicopter is already on a
task, so the RAF Search & Rescue (SAR) Helicopter, from RAF Wattisham is
then called.
The Police cordon off the area with tape, and position their vehicles
across the road entrances to stop immediate access to on-coming
vehicles, and pedestrians and create an exclusion zone for the impending
arrival of the helicopter. They collect statements from witnesses and
mark out the accident scene, and carry out their initial accident
investigation.
The Fire Service meanwhile stabilize and immobilize the vehicle with
chocks around the wheels, to prevent any further movement which may
cause further injuries to the casualties. Fire Crews gain access into
the vehicle, immobilize the casualities and then deploy their "Jaws of
Life" to cut the roof off the vehicle, allowing the casualties to be
safely extracted from the vehicle.
The First Response Team arrive and one member assists the Fire Crew with
the vehicle casualties, whilst the second First Responder tends to the
needs of the crushed child, who at this time is still alive, though in a
critical condition. Oxygen is administered and at all times the
casualties are kept as immobile as possible to prevent further injuries.
The Police ensure the helicopter landing site is clear of on-lookers
before radioing the all clear for the helicopter to land. The helicopter
Medical Crew disembark and take control of the ground casualties,
liaising with the Police and Fire Services to assess the situation. The
casualties are assessed in priority order for treatment. The child
crushed under the car has now died, so the Fire Crew no longer have to
use their lifting equipment as a matter of priority to extract the body
of the dead child, First Responders are used to assist the Fire Service
in the extraction of the casualties.
The Police conduct a search of the area to locate the missing front seat
passenger, he is discovered collapsed, several hundred metres from the
accident scene and helicopter landing site. A First Responder is called
over to assist the Police with treatment and extraction by stretcher to
the helicopter.
The other casualties have now been extracted from the vehicle, the
driver is on a spinal board and the back seat casualty with lesser
injuries is also on another stretcher, all three casualties are
airlifted at the same time using the Sea King helicopter to the nearest
hospital for further treatment.
The Fire and Police Services are left to clean up the accident scene,
organizing the removal of the vehicle and cleaning up the debris and
mess left by the scene of the accident.
At the end of the Exercise all parties returned to the Watton Families'
Club for a de-brief, where any problems or observations and improvements
on Protocols could be discussed.