Carrollton Fire Department and DART conclude three-day safety and rescue drills on October 24

by PegNews wire

The City of Carrollton Fire Department concluded a three-day safety and rescue drill with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) on Friday morning, Oct. 24. The drill was scheduled to test many areas of rescue response and procedure; a necessary precaution as the construction within Carrollton advances.

The drill required closure of part of Jackson Road and notifications to surrounding businesses, as the Fire Department tried to keep the public informed and prevent panic. The training began on Wednesday morning with a 911 call from the construction contractor to test the response of dispatch. This led to testing of the interaction between the City of Carrollton's dispatchers, DART and other area railroad dispatch centers that must be contacted when the rail service is affected.

Two different rescue scenarios ensued; one involved a construction worker with chest pains leading to a heart attack and another involved a trapped construction worker. The scenarios tested the 911 emergency system, the Carrollton Fire Department, DART NW-4 Contractor personnel, DART PD and the DART Construction Safety personnel.

Battalion Chief Bobby Mims reported the event as very successful. “The joint training events that involved the Carrollton Fire Department, DART Systems Safety Group, and the construction companies building the LRT (Light Rail Train) have gone very well. We had opportunities to learn and adjust our operational procedures to better handle the situations that we may encounter with the elevated rail system that is being erected in Carrollton. I am very excited about the cooperative working relationship that is being developed with DART as well as the experience our rescue teams obtained due to this training.”

Source: City of Carrollton