Emergency Responders 'Rescue' Lost Hikers at Hacklebarney State Park During Drill

To further their training and skill set during an emergency situation, local volunteer and professional agencies came together over the weekend to help successfully locate lost hikers during a drill.

Around 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, a rescue exercise began with a simulated interrupted 9-1-1 call from two hikers at Hacklebarney State Park, indicating one was injured, but with no accurate location information, according to Community Emergency Response Team leader Bruce Clark.

Call-back attempts by the Morris County Communications Center weren’t answered, prompting the dispatch of the Washington Township Police and First Aid Squad, Clark said.

When police arrived, incident command was established with requests of the Long Valley First Aid Squad and State Park Police to assist. Further, it was determined the Warren County Search & Rescue (SAR) Team and Long Valley CERT be requested to the scene, Clark said.

A unified command approach between senior First Aid Squad and SAR members was established, and a team of close to 40 SAR, Squad, and CERT members headed out into the park to conduct a systematic search. The injured hiker was located around 9:30 a.m. and required CPR during transport to the ambulance. The second hiker was found with a broken leg, which required a splint before transport to the First Aid Squad’s ATV.

Once the exercise ended, all teams debriefed and went over actions that worked well and areas in need of improvement.

“It was great to see all the different agencies working closely together,” said police Lt. Doug Compton. “The spirit and power of volunteerism was in very strong evidence this morning.”

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