NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Fire Division Chief Jeremy Unruh will be part of an event next month to help make the Kansas State Fair safer for everyone.
"A lot of people don't understand what goes into preparing for the fair and what Hutch Fire and Hutch Police and approximately 10 other departments do is, we meet multiple times throughout the year leading up to the fair," Unruh said. "We discuss safety concerns all the way up to the events, but this year, what we had was something different."
An expert from the Department of Homeland Security was at the 2023 Fair. He's bringing back some suggestions.
"He's picked out some weaknesses that he saw, and coming up here in July, we are having a six-hour tabletop. The first three hours of it will be discussing how we approach an MCI incident from how we respond all the way up to the aftermath dealing with the community. In the afternoon will be another three-hour session over cybersecurity. And then that's the same thing as how do we fix the problem all the way up to how do we deal with the community after the fact."
A mass casualty incident (MCI) is defined by the National Library of Medicine as an event that overwhelms the local healthcare system, where the number of casualties vastly exceeds the local resources and capabilities in a short time.
The Hutchinson Fire Department's new Station 1 is at 23rd and Main and on land owned by the Kansas State Fair and leased to the city.
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