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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018
A member of the Long Beach Fire
Department keeps a close eye on the
water during the exercise.
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
First responders prepare to load a mock victim into a waiting ambulance.
Life vests lie discarded in the sand
as victims are removed from the wa-
ter during the training.
AS REAL AS IT GETS
By COLIN MURPHEY
The Daily Astorian
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s a Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead and a lifeboat bobbed in the waters off Long Beach, Washington, spectators gathered
a safe distance away as emergency responders “rescued” seven mock victims during a training exercise Wednesday involving mul-
tiple local agencies. Organized by the South Pacific County Technical Rescue Team, the drill went off as planned, from the launch
of jet skis into the water to the transport of victims into waiting ambulances. If one of the goals was to achieve realism, it worked — sev-
eral onlookers could be heard asking each other what happened and expressing words of relief when they were told it was just an exercise.
A mock victim is carried out of the water on a
backboard.
First responders prepare to launch a jet ski into
the surf near Long Beach.
A victim is loaded into an ambulance.
Emergency personnel
participate in the surf
rescue training.