Charlotte prepared for mass casualty situation

WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Josh Stiller, a special operations technician with Medic, gave WBTV an inside look at one of two mass casualty buses in Charlotte.

It’s equipped to treat up to 20 patients at a time.

“Anything we find on an ambulance we have on here, but in larger quantities,” said Stiller.

Operations supervisor John Overcash says his staff trains several times a year with firefighters and police on how to respond to a mass casualty situation.

“You never want it to happen but at least you’ve got some foundation and knowledge to work with,” said Overcash.

Overcash says the training teaches fire responders how to stay calm and avoid becoming overwhelmed.

“On an ambulance call you’re focused on helping one or two patients. On a mass call like this you’re more focused on getting everything set up so that you can help as many people in as quick a time as possible,” said Overcash.

The mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado overnight highlights the importance of being prepared. Overcash says in that type of situation, medic would assess each patients needs, locate a special treatment area and then load up the buses.

“We feel like we are very prepared if something like that were to happen here,” said Stiller.