Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

While most of the nation watches the news for the gore and shock value, anyone who is involved in emergency operations sees things a little differently. Like reading with a writer's eyes, you understand the dynamics that are taking place on scene.

TV viewers seem to think that everyone involved in an emergency is an idiot if they can't spew facts and figures about the incident at a moments notice. Those of us involved in pre-planning and response know what an absolute cluster the event can feel like as a firefighter, EMT, or special rescue technician responding to something bigger than you've ever imagined possible. For the first few hours, you are often thrust onto the scene with little information about what has happened and the current scene dynamics.

- Has the scene been secured for rescuers to start working? Probably not - after all, that's our job, if it's even possible.

- How many people are involved? What are the extent of their injuries? How will we get to them? Where will we take them?

- Which special rescue technicians do we need? How many? What's the logistics plan for getting resources?

- How do we take care of our own? How do we deal with the media? How do we deal with our own stress?

Many of the national news reporters interviewed various leaders at the Emergency Operations Center in Minneapolis's City Hall within two hours of the collapse. One poor director was interviewed just minutes after arriving at the EOC, and had an understandable lack of knowledge. Most of the veteran reporters are understanding of this, but most continued to ask questions about the death toll, causes of the collapse, and confirmation about how the bridge was being used during that rush hour time. Personally, if you have to say "kids on a school bus" and "what caused this" in the same sentence, it should be obvious what the priority is.

The next time you hear about your municipality putting money and resources into pre-planning, think about the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse and how much people just "didn't know" for the first few hours. Think about everything you despised about Hurricane Katrina and September 11th. Then think about what a difference it would make to you if the emergency responders you depended on were more prepared for the next disaster. Does it change your mind about the purpose of planning?

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