In an emergency incident, key Santa Fe College staff would meet in the emergency operations center, located inside the Santa Fe Police building, to discuss a plan of action.
SFPD invited residents, students and staff to see what it’s like to be in one of these emergency meetings and more as a part of their emergency preparedness expo Tuesday morning.
The expo was designed to make sure the Santa Fe community is ready for all hazards, like hurricanes or tornadoes, said Ed Book, SFPD’s chief and the college’s emergency manager.
Down the hall of the SFPD building, the door to the operations center was left open for attendees to peek in on a pretend tornado exercise.
Benjamin Fox, SFPD office supervisor, said the exercise started with the participants receiving an emergency alert. Everyone in the room was assigned different roles, which included public information officer, logistics and more. They then got some information about what was happening and had to discuss what they would do.
As time went on during the 90-minute exercise, participants got more and more information and continued to make decisions based on what they learned. Participants would work through aspects of the emergency, going so far as to discuss post-emergency support, Fox said.
Joining SFPD were different partners from around Alachua County, all having stations outside or within the halls of the SFPD building, which is located on the northwest side of campus.
“A lot of people don’t know how many agencies are involved in emergency planning,” said Robert Linnens, regional planner at Florida Health. “I think it’s something people should know.”
On the table in front of him, Linnens did demonstrations with a mobile ventilator. Linnens said the mobile ventilator is used in situations where people need to be evacuated but can’t breathe on their own.
Attendees saw how the ventilator reacted to varying levels of oxygen and learned from Linnens that, with an external battery added, the device could last six hours without being connected to power.
Next to his table, representatives from Gainesville Regional Utilities cautioned people from getting too close to metal wires that may be lying on the ground during or after an emergency disaster.
GRU electric safety and training coordinator Gary McKenzie said downed wires could still be energized and recommended staying 25 to 30 feet away from them.
“Electricity can radiate through the ground just like throwing a rock in water,” McKenzie said.
Some partners, including Alachua County Fire Rescue and Gainesville Fire Rescue, had their displays outside of the building. A GFR firefighter took guests for a ride in the basket of the truck’s aerial ladder.
A hundred feet in the air, people got a wide view of the campus and surrounding trees. For some, the Jurassic Park theme song could be heard through the communications radio, courtesy of another firefighter on the ground.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to learn about other organizations,” said Clarinda Choice, student activities specialist at Santa Fe and an organizer for Safe Santa Fe, the college’s safety events. “It’s also great for me to network for Safe Santa Fe. It provides better resources for our students.”
Other stations had representatives from Alachua County Emergency Management, Gainesville Amateur Radio Society, a trauma response team and more.
Book said SFPD will probably continue to hold the expo annually during the summer. The department also holds different events during the year.
“This may be a readiness event,” Book said, “but all year long, we’re always trying to evaluate how prepared we are for different emergencies.”
Follow Jessica Curbelo on Twitter @jesscurbelo and contact her at jcurbelo@alligator.org.
Gainesville firefighters set up one of their trucks outside of the Sante Fe Police Department where the expo was held.
Florida Health representative Robert Linnens teaches attendees about mobile ventilators. The ventilator, a gray and purple box in front of him, was connected to an oxygen tank and an airbag mimicking lungs.
A Gainesville Fire Rescue firefighter, Jose Paredes, hands out helmets to attendees about to get into the aerial ladder’s basket.
Gainesville firefighters watch as the fire truck’s basket is lifted into the air.
