Mock Disaster: A Test For The Real Thing
DETROIT (WWJ) - Officials at the Detroit Medical Center say they aren't preparing for zombies to rise up in Metro Detroit but they are preparing for something big.
Lots of fright, lots of blood, but these wounded aren't the walking dead or actually injured, they are all taking part in a region-wide drill for a simulated disaster.
Amputee Jeff Herig plays one of the many radioactive survivors injured by the blast, that in this simulation, rocked Downtown Detroit.
The Monroe resident told WWJ's Kathryn Larson the test is good practice for the real thing.
"I live close to a nuclear reactor in Michigan and my wife is a first responder and a lot of my friends are first responders - when the opportunity arose, there was no doubt I was going to do it," said Herig.
Trained nurses, not make-up artists hand craft the victim's wounds - to make it look more real.
And DMC Trauma Program Specialist Sharon Maleyko-Jacob says the gloves come off during the drill - as those on the frontline feel the pressure to perform.
"Whoever comes in gets the best and the quickest treatment that they can get," said Maleyko-Jacob. "So this, in a mass disaster it would be so important for the people to get the care."
And Herig, who lost his legs in a train accident, says he's drawing from that experience, and only happy to play along:
"Absolutely," said Herig. "You know we live in trying times, anytime you could use a training incident that is as real as it could be - how would it not help?"
