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ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP, NJ - ...or so the scenario went.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, members of the Aberdeen Township First Aid and Rescue Squad, District 2, gathered at the organization's headquarters, located at the corner of Amboy and Prospect.

On this cold, damp, windy morning, Aberdeen EMS leaders were "dressing up" cadet volunteers from Keyport and Aberdeen; volunteers who would brave the cold, wind-swept beach in Cliffwood, playing the part of victims of a boat explosion.

The purpose of this exercise was to tax the capabilities of the squad's members, preparing for a real-world incident. As a member organization of the newly-formed Jersey Shore Search and Rescue Task Force based in Ocean Gate, it was Aberdeen's turn this month to plan and execute an exercise of a magnitude of which the squad has yet to experience, and hopefully never will.

At 11:15 a.m., 9-1-1 dispatchers in Monmouth County received a call reporting an explosion of some type - with injuries, just off the shoreline in the Cliffwood section of the district.

EMS rigs rolled to the location to find township police officers on scene, reporting multple casualties lying along the beachfront. Grabbing their equipment, EMTs trekked over the sandy dunes and came upon eight individuals lying about the beach.

Splitting up, the responders immediately went to work assessing the "victims" and switched to a triage mode. Many of the eight on the beach were teenagers or younger. An adult female was yelling hysterically about her missing child. Taking her to the rig, Dawn Snynder (who now established comand), assessed the adult and then gathered information on the misiing youth (which happened to be two young girls).

Contacting the comm center, Miss Snyder brought more ambulances to the scene for victim transport. Realizing the overwhelming nature of an impending search, Miss Snyder started requesting resources, all of which would stage at the squad's headquarters.

Fulfilling the up-coming roles were Field Comm 2 (a Mobile Command Unit from the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office), the Chief and an engine from Cliffwood Fire Department, the township's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and member organizations from the Jersey Shore Search and Rescue Task Force (which included Holmdel Rescue 65, Hazlet First Aid Squad, Ocean Gate EMS with their search dogs, and BSA Explorer Post 156).

As the exercise progressed, search teams combed the beach and then made their way inland. Eventually the two girls were found safe-and-sound; but not without a few "glitches"; which is exactly why the exercise took place at all. To identify and correct short-comings.

As is the case for everyone everywhere at some point in time, communication gave its moments of frustration. At one point it was believed that there were actually three lost girls, thanks to a cell phone call that was lost due to its battery dying out. Too, the day was miserable, and young minds "chomp at the bit" to get active. But in all, the exercise went well, lasting the allotted 4-hour time frame.

Responders wrapped things up on the beachfront and relocated to EMS Headquarters, where subs, chips, soda and cake awaited everyone. Following the well-deserved meal a critique took place, at which everyone voiced their opinion and offered either praise or a suggesstion.

Please view the video entitled "Aberdeen EMS conducts missing person drill".