DANVILLE — Time is of the essence in an emergency, with preparation and planning being the key to success.
Zach Weddle, Director of Oakwood Ambulance, shares his perspective on how preparation and planning come into play during severe weather events like the ones Vermilion County experienced Thursday evening.
“Planning is 99% of handling an emergency situation,” Weddle says. “That is where training and planning come into play — 100% — we train constantly, we plan constantly, plans change, things get updated, policies get written.”
While not technically on duty Thursday evening, when the high winds struck, knocking down trees, blowing debris, and more into roadways, homes, and cars, Weddle still did his part to help.
“I did have on-duty crews that did go out on calls, and I was maintaining communication with them throughout the entirety of the storm last night,” Weddle said. “There was fairly significant damage done in the Oakwood-Muncie-Fithian area that then continued into the Danville area, and through all of the major 911 call volume, the Vermilion County Dispatch Center with the telecommunicators did a fantastic job of trying to make sure resources went where they needed to go in the most timely manner and made everybody operate as a well-oiled machine.”
And on Thursday evening, while Oakwood Ambulance only responded to a few calls, Weddle says there was also an incident on I-74 involving a vehicle going off the road. So he did his best to manage the crew in responding, by limiting radio communication so others could receive vital 911 calls at the same time.
“All while trying to find out exactly where this incident had occurred and what resources were needed, presents a pretty unique challenge,” Weddle described. “It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work, even after the dispatch goes off.”
Weddle said many of the calls last night to various dispatchers and departments were related to fire workers helping public works workers, giving citizens advice on not crossing over live wires, and more.
“There were even a few instances where I heard fire departments go on scenes to create some sort of escape route for people trying to get out of their house because a tree fell on it,” Weddle said.
Thursday evening into Friday the Vermilion County 911 dispatch used their Facebook page to direct messages to the public. They said pretty quickly after the storms hit, “Our 911 center is currently managing a high volume of emergency calls, including assisting neighboring counties impacted by storm-related communications issues.” The dispatchers remind the public to only use 911 for emergencies, not for power outage updates.
All in all, Weddle says working in tandem Thursday evening was a team effort.
“It was a massive undertaking by multiple departments all working together. I know that other departments were responding to others’ calls that were outside their area, just trying to make sure that everybody had the resources and help that they need, and that’s what the mutual aid policies are all about,” Weddle said.
Much of Vermilion County is still without power on Friday afternoon. Weddle suggests that if you have medication or a need for power for devices, contact local clinics, hospitals, EMS, and fire stations to see if they can help you charge or store equipment.
“The biggest recommendation that I would have for people who have medical needs, such as medication that needs to remain in a cool environment: your best option for being at home and dealing with that would be to invest in a decent cooler, make sure it’s packed on ice,” said Weddle. “It’s all a matter of pre-planning.”
Tucker Kennedy, Communications with Ameren Illinois, says there were around 11,000 crews working to restore power on Friday.
“Our goal is always to do this work as quickly, but also as safely as we can, and so we do have the resources on the ground,” Kennedy said. “We are chipping away at that outage number… “
Kennedy reiterated, like many other officials, the priority for safety during these events and the clean-up.
“It’s really important to remind people to stay away from any downed lines, brush, shrubs, and trees, and always assume any line that is on the ground in a neighborhood, or wherever you may see it, is live and to stay away from it,” Kennedy said.
“This is a great opportunity for communities to grow and show their love for one another,” Weddle said. “It can be as simple as just a phone call to make sure that your family, your friends, your neighbors — they’re all safe.”