08/30/2026
Mass Casualty Incident Training
For months, our department has been planning, preparing, and working toward a comprehensive Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training exercise designed to prepare us for the realities of a large-scale emergency.
The scenario involved a semi-truck and driver, a passenger vehicle, and a school bus carrying children. While these were simulated circumstances, the purpose behind the training was very real: to ensure that, should our community ever face an actual mass casualty incident, we are prepared to respond with the highest level of coordination, skill, and readiness possible.
From the initial planning stages and tabletop discussions, to securing the necessary equipment and vehicles, to coordinating personnel and orchestrating the entire scene, this training required an incredible amount of time, communication, preparation, and teamwork. What the public sees on the day of an exercise represents countless hours of work that happen long before the first call is made.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed their time, equipment, knowledge, and expertise to making this training possible:
• Sullivan Fire and Rescue Volunteer Fire Department
• Metro Life Flight
• David Yarmesch
• Rick Moskalski Jr.
• Polk–Jackson–Perry Township Fire Department
• Ruggles–Troy Volunteer Fire Department
• Genesis Rescue Systems — Luke Ricketts and Marc Bishop
Your involvement helped make this exercise possible and, more importantly, helped strengthen our ability to work together when it matters most.
A very special thank-you goes to Chief Doug Campbell and Assistant Chief Jerry Schrock for the countless hours they devoted to planning, coordinating, preparing, and bringing this entire exercise together. Their commitment to ensuring our department is ready—not only individually, but as a unified team and alongside our mutual-aid partners—is deeply appreciated.
Training like this is not about hoping we will never need these skills. It is about making sure that if the day ever comes when we do, we are ready.
To every person who helped plan, prepare, participate, provide equipment, teach, coordinate, or support this exercise: thank you. Your time and dedication are an investment in the safety of our community, our neighboring communities, and the people we are called upon to serve.
Preparedness saves lives. Teamwork makes that preparedness possible.
