Brookvale exercise prepares ski patrol for disaster

Members of the Canadian Ski Patrol were at P.E.I.'s Brookvale Provincial Ski Park for training this weekend, preparing for potential trouble during the upcoming skiing season.

The training involved a mass casualty exercise, and ski-lift chair evacuation session.

Thirty-six Brookvale patrollers and seven volunteer patients were part of the mass casualty scenario, which simulated the collapse of a second-storey deck. It focused on triage of victims and emergency treatment of numerous injuries, including concussions, impaled objects, shock, fractures, and severe bleeding.

The crew also performed a chair evacuation at the ski lift, an annual exercise so the patrol is prepared to assist people if the ski lift breaks down.

The field day was part of a 60-hour advanced course preparing patrollers for the upcoming ski and snowboard season.

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