If you caught a glimpse down Loewen Boulevard in Steinbach Tuesday afternoon, you probably saw what appeared to be carnage following a three-vehicle crash. But, while those who attended the scene were actual emergency response teams, the injured victims were actors and the wrecked vehicles were nothing more than props.

Steinbach's Emergency Coordinator Denis Vassart says Tuesday's mock disaster took months of planning and dozens of volunteers to pull off. At 12:03 pm, a 911 page came down for a three-vehicle pileup on Loewen Boulevard in Steinbach. Vassart explains their scenario involved a pickup truck pulling a tank of anhydrous ammonia colliding with a school bus. The collision forced the tank to jackknife, which was then hit by a small car travelling behind. The driver of the car ended up dying in the crash, while many others sustained serious injuries.

This prompted Steinbach's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and response teams to take action. The Steinbach EOC set up shop at the Fire Hall, under the watchful eye of Vassart and a monitor from Emergency Measures Organization.

"I thought it was pretty good for an exercise," shares Vassart, who says thankfully nobody was hurt in the process.

"Some of the feedback I got back already was that the accident victims that we had portrayed by the students from the SRSS drama club were excellent, makeup was good, it got the adrenaline flowing in the EMS and fire and responders," he adds.

The crash may have been fake but the street closures certainly were not. A portion of Loewen Boulevard was closed from about 10 am to 2:15 pm. Motorists were asked to detour, while onlookers were asked to stay away and give emergency responders a chance to complete their task.

Vassart says during the course of the event, two thoughts occupied his mind. First, he hoped there would never be such an event that his team would be called into action for. While the second thought centred around how prepared his team was for this exercise.

Vassart says a debriefing meeting is still to come and he will know more after connecting with the different parties involved in the exercise.