Emergency responders perform mass casualty incident drill in Ulster Co.

ULSTER PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Emergency departments from Columbia, Ulster and Dutchess counties participated in a mass casualty incident exercise on Saturday. The full-scale drill was performed at Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Attractions in Ulster Park.

The mass casualty incident exercise simulated a plane crash and a vehicle entrapment at a campsite in a densely wooded area. The dramatized "victims," portrayed by community members, included one dead patient, 15 priority one and priority two patients, and four or five walking wounded patients.

The participating first responders were tasked with appropriately rescuing, treating and transporting all of the victims using necessary tools like stretchers and the jaws of life. About 125 people, including 14 emergency response departments, participated in the drill, according to Ulster County Chief of Communications Amberly Campbell:

Participating departments

• New York State Office of Emergency Management
• Ulster County Department of Emergency Services
• Columbia County Office of Emergency Management
• Columbia County Department of Health
• Esopus Fire Department
• Rifton Fire Department
• St. Remy Fire Department
• Esopus Volunteer Ambulance Squad
• Marbletown Rescue Squad
• Olive First Aid
• Rhinebeck Fire/EMS
• Greenport Rescue Squad
• Ulster County Sheriff’s Office
• HealthAlliance/WMC -- participated in an ER surge drill during the exercise to meet one of the certifications for their Trauma Center

Full-scale mass casualty incident exercises are conducted in Ulster County once every year. According to authorities, drills like these are essential to ensure that all emergency personnel are prepared for any major scenario.

"It went great, everyone did a great job," said Mike Madison, the deputy director and emergency manager for Ulster County Department of Emergency Services. "Bringing all these agencies together is so important. We need to have the ability to communicate and work together as one single unit to simulate a mass casualty incident so we can better prepare for the future if this ends up happening in real life."