In addition to the monthly fire drills required by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Country Meadows Retirement Communities administration requires each of its facilities carry out a practice evacuation once a year.

Recently, Country Meadows of Allentown, Upper Macungie Township, partnered with local fire, police and EMS teams in a catastrophe drill.

“These annual simulations provide the opportunity to bring our collective readiness to the scene,” according to Ann Melick, Country Meadows of Allentown’s executive director of independent living.

Upper Macungie Fire Commissioner Grant Grim and Country Meadows Regional Director of Maintenance Joseph Budnik collaborated to organize the event.

The mock disaster began with a report of a bomb exploding in a trash can inside the facility followed by the discovery of a second suspicious package. To enhance the realism of the drill, Country Meadows employees appeared in grisly makeup and posed as victims. First responders practiced their skills on real people in a fully operational setting.

As Peter Nickischer of the Upper Macungie Township Police Department states, “[The drill] is a great way for police to work together with fire departments and Country Meadows.”

Last year’s drill centered around a mock plane crash and resulted in Country Meadows being recognized nationally as a Program to Watch as part of the Assisted Living Federation of America’s Best of the Best awards program.

However, the purpose of these events is not winning awards.

As Melick explained in an earlier press release, the drills allow police, fire, EMS and Country Meadows personnel to work as a team and teamwork is what effective disaster response requires.