OXFORD, Miss. – While UM faculty and staff might not have heard a loud explosion on Wednesday, smoke filled the north end zone of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as dozens of university, city and county officials worked to respond to a simulated emergency situation.
The exercise, led by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, marked the first time the agency has run such a large-scale drill at a university. About 50 actors in full makeup played the role of Ole Miss fans injured during the simulated 20-pound propane tank explosion.
“[Exercises like this] help the right hand know what the left hand is doing,” said Todd Demuth, exercise officer with MEMA’s Office of Preparedness. “You do exercises like this to find corrective actions in your response system and to update your emergency preparedness plan.”
At 9 a.m., smoke rose from the bleachers to signal the beginning of the exercise.
Representatives from university, Oxford and Lafayette County fire and law enforcement agencies, as well as emergency medical technicians, worked for the next hour and a half to clear the area, respond to the situation and transport victims to Baptist Memorial Hospital. Two actors were transported via helicopter, while nearly a dozen were taken to the hospital in ambulances.
The UM public relations department, along with journalism students, acted as media on the scene and at the hospital. Lee Tyner, university chief of staff, and Kyle Campbell, assistant athletics director for media and public relations, fielded questions from the group as part of a simulated press conference an hour into the event.
“In a situation of that nature, we know the university is going to have to develop a response quickly,” said public relations director Danny Blanton. “We wanted to make sure that we had fully thought through how we would conduct ourselves in that situation and how well we could prepare spokespeople from the university and athletics to respond quickly and accurately.”
During a debriefing session after the simulation, city, county and university participants reviewed responses and identified opportunities for improvements. Demuth said the exercise was a success for all parties involved.
“I thought it went wonderfully,” he said. “It’s not a successful exercise if we don’t find corrective actions. Most of those actions were self-identified.”
WARNING: Makeup on actors may appear graphic. The injuries are not real.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the drill, view the photo gallery by clicking the photo below. Click to cycle through the photos.
