ELLIS TECH STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN HOMELAND SECURITY EXERCISE

On Monday, April 4, 2005 students from Ellis Technical High School in Danielson, Connecticut participated in Operation TOPOFF 3, a national terrorism response exercise sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Students from instructor Larry Leboeuf's Emergency Services club volunteered to be a part of what was called "the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise every conducted in the United States. Leboeuf, who is a certified Emergency Medical Technician, said that many of the students who volunteered are very interested in the Emergency Services field and are volunteers at their  town's police and fire departments.

As part of the exercise, students were brought to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Connecticut. They were instructed to pretend they were  victims of a chemical attack. Hospital staff at the Day-Kimball had to set up decontamination shower booths which the students were taken through before entering the emergency room. Students had to simulate being different ages and having different symptoms. The emergency staff then had to perform triage (make decisions on how to treat the mock patients).

The exercise was meant to test how well the hospital would react to meeting heavy patient demand which might occur in a real terrorist attack. Martin Nugent, security officer at Day Kimball Hospital, said," Without the help of the students and Mr. Leboeuf, it would not have been possible for us to test the hospitals decon and surge capacity plans. Day Kimball is very fortunate to have such dedicated faculty and students from Ellis Tech who always step up to the plate to help us with Emergency Preparedness."