PowerPoint Presentation

Umatilla County Bus CrashInterstate - 84Gary A. Woodson, Fire Chief-Paramedic&Matt Benedict, Captain-ParamedicPendleton Fire & Ambulance Department

DECEMBER 30, 2012

DECEMBER 30, 2012

TIMELINE10:07 a.m. - 1st call to Umatilla County 911 Tour bus crash on I-84 at Cabbage Hill Milepost 226 WestboundPassengers mostly South KoreanTwelve 911 calls received in ~20 minutes by passing motorists and bus passengers most Korean speakingCTUIR Ambulance dispatchedRequested assistance from Pendleton Fire& East Umatilla Rural Health DistrictRequest EOC be openedEM notified at 10:40CTUIR Public Safety Director notified at 10:50Requests for assistance continued

I-84 Closed to trafficPendleton Fire & Ambulance Services assumed command of incidentUnified Command (OSP, PFD)No IMT (most IMT members were responding or on standby)Lt. Gregg Hastings, OSP dispatched to assist with PIO functionsMid-Columbia Bus Company dispatched to assist with transportMorrow County Mobile Command Vehicle

rescue

Responding agencies

NOTIFICATIONSOERSUmatilla County CommissionersCity of Pendleton Mayor, City Counsel, City Manager CTUIR GovernmentNTSBConsulates:KoreanCanadianU.S.

CHALLENGESDay of the Week (Sunday)Terrain (~200 below freeway at a 63% grade)Number of victims and accountability of victimsRange of injuriesTemperature - 21-24 degreesAge ranged from 7 to 75 years

2 buses, stopped in Boise where some passengers traded buses with no change in manifest, which was in Korean. Passengers listed as John Doe, and 3 others (no names) Crashed bus was 2nd in line, first bus continued on, where passengers disembarked without being checked off of manifest, so there was no clear number or ID of passengers on either bus.Language barrier. Most were Korean and spoke little or no English.CHALLENGES

WEATHER CONDITIONS & TERRAINTemperature: 21-24 degrees

~200 feet below freeway 63% Grade

MEDICAL BRANCHTriageTreatmentTransportation

Passengers in bus weretriaged, treated and removed

EXTRICATION - DISENTANGLEMENT

Roof Ladders used on drivers side for access. Initial access through front of the bus.

Initial access for rescue crews

TREATMENTIV Hep Lock started while patients were still on the busPain medications administeredpatients received collars & backboards. There were very few walking wounded.

ROPE RESCUE

Most victims were carried up this incline or hoisted with ropes. There were 3 or 4 walking wounded that were able to make it to the highway prior to EMS arrival.

TRANSPORT38 transported9 fatalities38 patients removed from scene in 2 hours 38 minutesFrom bus to ambulance Average of 4 min. 15 secTransport to hospital ~20 minutes

RESCUE

RESCUE EFFORTS38 patients removed from the scene in 2 hours 38 minutes.From bus to ambulance average of 4 min. 15 secondsTransport to hospital 20 minutes.

RescueTechnical Rescue teams requested to assist

All Terrain Vehicles requested to transport tools, equipment and victimsrescue

Multiple Agencies Involved

St. Anthony Hospital

Arrival at St. Anthonys HospitalPatients re-triaged by physician, ER nurse and paramedics26 patients treated at St. AnthonysSome patients transported to other hospitalsLIFEFLIGHTOne helicopter available (from LaGrande) that could land at the scene.Pendleton aircraft grounded due to weather

Weather checks every 5 minutes

2 Fixed winged medical aircraft staged at Pendleton Airport2 Rotary winged (helicopters) staged at Pendleton Airport1 Helicopter at St. Anthonys

LifeFlight staged at SAH for transport to tertiary hospitals

Shelter set up at Pendleton Convention Center

Staffed by Mid-Columbia Region Portland Red Cross staff members, local volunteers, nurses, doctors and translators.

Shelter moved to Red Lion Inn

Legacy Ford of LaGrande provided transportation to Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver B.C. at no charge

Tour bus was transported to a secondary location for investigation

PUBLIC INFORMATIONOregon State Police, Lt. Gregg Hastings Public Information Officer

Press Conference held December 31, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

MEDIACountless News Media inquiries were fielded by Emergency Management, Hospital Communications Director, Oregon State Police PIO, and EM PIO.

Most were respectful of the bus passengers, with few exceptions.

The incident was the 4th largest news story in the US for 2 days.DISPATCH CENTERSUmatilla CountyConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR)City of HermistonCity of Milton FreewaterOregon State PoliceMorrow CountyUnion CountyWalla Walla CountyOregon Dept. of TransportationLifeFlight10 Total dispatch centers involved in eventEMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIESUmatilla CountyConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian ReservationUnion CountyMorrow County

LAW ENFORCEMENTOregon State PolicePendleton, Bend, Salem, Portland, LaGrande, Baker CityUmatilla County Sheriffs OfficeUmatilla County Search & RescuePendleton Police Dept.CTUIRUnion County Sheriffs OfficeUnion County Search & RescueMorrow County Sheriffs OfficeFIRE & AMBULANCE CTUIR Fire Dept.Pendleton Fire & Ambulance ServicePilot Rock Fire DistrictStanfield Fire Dept.Hermiston Fire & Emergency ServicesUmatilla Fire & Protection DistrictCity of Walla Walla Fire Dept.Walla Walla Fire District 4LaGrande Fire Dept.Milton-Freewater Ambulance Service Area Health DistrictNorthwest Medstar (Spokane)East Umatilla Rural Fire District (Weston)East Umatilla Rural Health District (Athena)Helix Fire Dept.Union Ambulance Service (Union)LifeFlight

16 Fire and Ambulance agencies responded

HOSPITALSSt. Anthony - PendletonProvidence St. Marys - Walla WallaWalla Walla General - Walla WallaGrande Ronde - LaGrandeGood Shepherd Medical Center - HermistonHarbor View Medical Center SeattleOregon Health Sciences University - PortlandLegacy Emanuel Medical Center PortlandKadlec Regional Medical Center RichlandSt. Alphonse Medical Center - BoiseASSISTING AGENCIESAmerican Red Cross Pendleton, PortlandVeterans of Foreign Wars PendletonUmatilla County CommissionersMid-Columbia Bus CompanyInterMountain Education Services DistrictLegacy Ford LaGrandePendleton Convention CenterRed Lion Hotel

Total of 65 Agencies Involved

Umatilla Electric Co-op HermistonOregon Health AuthorityODOTOERSOEMRoyal Canadian Mounted Police Vancouver B.C.Consulate General of Canada - SeattleSouth Korean Consulate - South KoreaSouth Korean Consulate - Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver B.C.

AFTER INCIDENTCritical incident stress debriefing (CISD)Hotwash/Critique of EventAfter Action Report (AAR)County Wide Mass Casualty Response Plan Multi-County Mass Casualty Response Plan

Lessons LESSONS LEARNED

CommunicationsOn Scene:On scene was poor due to terrain and unfamiliarity with equipmentYelling back & forth and by runner between top of embankment and bus locationCell phone service unavailable due to terrainUmatilla/Morrow Radio and Data District Administrator Shawn Halsey was acting as S&R member and could have provided assistance had he known there was an issue with Communications

Suggestions/CorrectionsUMRDD Refresher radio course for all entitiesHalseys roll with UCSO S&R, at incidents such as these will be re-evaluated to use his capability in the best interest of incident resolution.

Lessons learned LESSONS LEARNEDCoordination and ControlAccountability difficult due to different accountability systemsSafety was a challenge (terrain and location of bus)No clear number of persons on bus Manifest was in KoreanGroups of passengers listed as John Doe, and 3 othersIC needed an assistant to relay info, take notes, etc.Command Post was not readily identifiable

Suggestions/CorrectionsMove to one accountability system for all respondersAssign assistant to ICIdentify Command Post

LESSONS LEARNED

Emergency ManagementPublic Information County PIO unavailable OSP responded to work with mediaLocated additional PIOs to respond to inquiries at ARC ShelterSuggestions/CorrectionsAdditional PIOs identified and contact list updated Identify staging area for media to gain information

Emergency ManagerEOC was opened. Briefings held by phone with on scene IC, ARC and OSPConcern for travelers on I-84 in sub-freezing weather for 4 hoursSuggestions/CorrectionsScheduled briefingsADDITIONAL LESSONS LEARNEDLawStaging areaI-84 westbound was closed for emergency vehicles useWaiting ambulances were blocking other emergency trafficSuggestions/CorrectionsProvide Staging Manager for staging of emergency vehicles

HospitalsHospitals notified that they would receive patientsSt. Marys had room for more patients but did not know how to contact ICNo All Clear message to hospitalsSuggestions/CorrectionsAssign Transport Liaison to hospitalsRelay All Clear to all affected hospitalsADDITIONAL CHALLENGES

Individual and Family AssistancePassengers/patients on bus

Language Barrier local interpreters offered assistance, one through Facebook

Korean Consulate identified the dead and notified appropriate authorities

Luggage recovery for passengers

Free transportation offered to passengers at no cost

QUESTIONS?