Volunteers needed for emergency response field training

Northwest Missouri State University will host its annual Missouri Hope emergency response field training exercise October 10-13 and invites students, employees and community members to work as role players during the exercise.

The event occurs at Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area (MOERA) and Mozingo Youth Camp, where students receive practical training toward becoming experts in the emergency and disaster management field.

Role players are made up to resemble victims with different injuries sustained as a result of natural disasters such as a tornado as well as flooding or fire. Individuals interested in volunteering should register by 11:59 pm, Tuesday, October 8, by contacting Travis Surprise, a Northwest instructor of emergency and disaster management, at tsurprise@nwmissouri.edu.

Missouri Hope, which is required for students studying majors or minors in emergency and disaster management, simulates a tornado that strikes a small town, and it becomes the responsibility of trainees to render medical and other aid to role-playing victims.

The training exercise includes, for Northwest students as well as emergency personnel in medical, police, fire and armed forces, high-angle rescues, mass casualty situations and water rescue operations. The event trains students and emergency responders in leadership skills and assisting in future real-world emergencies.

“The more people we have, the more realistic we can make it,” Surprise said. “I think that having some hands-on experience sets students apart when they go for jobs.”

Students work with subject matter experts representing the 32 attending agencies from throughout the region. The program partners with agencies including Maryville Public Safety, Nodaway and Buchanan County Emergency Management, Nodaway County Ambulance District, LifeFlight and LifeNet Air Ambulances, SEMA Region H Marine Hazmat Team, and the 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion Missouri Army National Guard.

For more information about Missouri Hope and volunteering as a role player, contact Northwest faculty Surprise or Peter Adam at padam@nwmissouri.edu.