Responders Prepare for the Unthinkable

Chris Torres
Staff Writer
NAZARETH, Pa. — Imagine this scenario.

A number of large animals are stuck in a barn that is about to collapse from heavy snow.

In these dog days of summer, where 90 degrees Fahrenheit heat is the norm, it’s a farfetched scenario. But for dozens of emergency responders, it’s how they train for an unthinkable tragedy.

The Lehigh Valley Animal Rescue and Response Team hosted a large animal rescue training seminar last weekend at the Northampton County 4-H Center.
Emergency responders from around the region attended the three day, 20-hour class.

It included classroom training on how to identify animals at an emergency scene and how to handle them after they’re rescued.

“When you’re dealing with animals and triage, temperament is a factor,” said instructor Jennifer Zajaczkowski during a session on “managing ag emergencies.”

Participants were also immersed in several mock emergency drills.

In one scenario, responders split up into teams to respond to a farm emergency: several types of farm animals including horses, sheep, goats and cows had to be moved from a barn hypothetically about to collapse under the weight of several feet of snow.

For the more animal savvy responders, it was a fairly simple, straightforward exercise. For others, it was a little more dicey.

One man got tangled with a sheep and a goat and stumbled on his way out of the pens. Another got kicked by one of the cows. Thankfully, no one was injured.

“This is a little different,” said Marybeth Powers, a certified veterinarian technician from Coopersburg, Pa., who has had experience dealing with smaller animals, not larger ones. She had the pleasure of escorting an Angus steer to safer confines.

“It’s all new to me,” said Marc Wallowicz of Bucks County, who decided to view the animals from the sidelines.

According to Davis Hill, director of a program at Penn State that deals specifically with animal emergencies, training emergency personnel on how to deal with these types of situations is critically needed.

Most emergency responders, firefighters and police officers, according to Hill, lack the proper training to deal with animal emergencies.

“It’s really needed,” Hill said. “Many have no experience with large animals. This class gives them the opportunity to deal with large animals in different situations.”

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the federal government mandated states to develop County Animal Response Teams (CART) to deal with animals in emergency situations.

Hill said the teams, which consist mostly of volunteers, take the pressure off emergency personnel so they can focus on the task of saving human lives and property.

Being properly trained in animal rescue doesn’t just involve saving animals. Instructors also stressed things such as animal identification, psychology and organization.

Zajaczkowski’s training and experience with large animals has helped her get more familiar with how animals respond to human contact, thus preventing her from getting injured when she has responded to emergencies.

“What I’ve learned is how the animal is going to respond ... knowing what the next thing is going to happen,” she said. “For me, it’s about being familiar with the situation.”