First responders take part in mass casualty drill at Columbus Technical College

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Sirens, flashing lights and emergency vehicles surrounded Columbus Technical College on Tuesday morning — but it was all part of a planned drill.

Multiple agencies participated in a mass casualty exercise simulating a tornado on the campus off Manchester Expressway.

The drill involved the college’s police force, Columbus Fire and EMS, the Columbus Police Department, the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies. Students and cadets acted as victims while first responders worked through the simulated chaos.

Chance Corbett, director of Columbus Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said training like this is critical for situations first responders don’t encounter every day.

“They’re necessary because our first responders, they know how to do their jobs, they do their jobs every day,” Corbett said. “We don’t do a response to a tornado or an active shooter every day, and we want to be able to prepare for that today because I promise you, the first 15 minutes of this exercise will look like a real event.”

After the exercise, the Columbus Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management led an after-action review. One of the main topics was improving communication across agencies during the critical early minutes of an emergency.