On February 29, 195 Durham College (DC) students, faculty and industry partners collaborated on an intense, large-scale emergency simulation exercise at the Oshawa campus that let students put their classroom and lab training into action.

Bringing together participants from the schools of Justice & Emergency Services, Health & Community Services and Media, Art & Design, as well as peers from Ontario Tech University’s nursing program, the exercise followed a detailed script that saw volunteers simulate a mass-casualty emergency stemming from a sports-racing situation.

Unfolding in real-time, the exercise provided students with valuable experiential learning as well as a better understanding of how members of emergency services, health and social services, legal services and the media work together during an emergency. A second simulation exercise focused on mock legal proceedings in connection with the emergency will be held Saturday, March 7.

Students from the following DC programs participated:

• 911 Emergency and Call Centre Communications
• Advanced Law Enforcement and Investigations ( graduate certificate)
• Court Support Services
• Emergency Services Fundamentals
• Firefighter – Pre-service, Education and Training
• Journalism – Mass Media
• Paralegal
• Paralegal (graduate certificate)
• Paramedic
• Police Foundations
• Practical nursing
• Pre-Health Sciences Pathway to Advanced Diplomas and Degrees
• Protection, Security and Investigation