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It’s going to be a busy Wednesday for officials at Fanshawe College and for local emergency crews as they run a mock emergency on campus.

It’s been dubbed “Exercise Affray” and will run from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. It will involve London police, London fire, as well as local paramedics and Fanshawe’s own paramedic students.

“It really is a real test of not only our own ability to respond but how well we communicate and work co-operatively with our community partners,” said Brenda Henry with Fanshawe’s emergency management office.

“It really does take a collaborative effort to respond to any large-scale event and this is a good way for us to test our mutual protocols.” Tweet This

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Henry said they’ve been running the drills for about a decade now as a way of testing the college’s emergency preparedness and communication with local agencies, adding they practice all kinds of scenarios.

“It’s been everything from overturned vehicles to a small plane crash, fires, weather-related events, and always involves a mass casualty-related scenario,” said Henry.

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While the mock emergency only happens for one day, Henry said planning can take about six months and involves working closely with representatives from their community partners.

Most importantly though, is that the details be kept secret.

“We try to keep the specific details of the type of incident, the type of casualties, and the type of scenarios they might encounter [quiet], including where it’s going to happen on campus in order to provide that sense of realism,” she said.

More than 200 people will take part including Fanshawe’s paramedic and advanced care paramedic students.

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