By Josh Grossberg
Tuesday, May 18 -- In the span of a few hours Monday
night, Marlene Morris of Santa Monica accidentally sawed off
her left hand no fewer than seven times. And every time she
did it, a group of Boy Scouts showed up to apply first aid,
calm frayed nerves and search for the missing hand, which nearly
always tended to wind up in the nearby bushes. And, of course,
the young scouts also helped the poor man who fell off a ladder
every time Morris screamed. And then there was that messy toxic
spill in her garage.
All in a day's work for Santa Monica Boy Scout Troop 2. As
part of "Bloody Monday," the Santa Monica-based scouts
visited several sites around town to test their mettle in the
face of disaster. The youngsters had all earned their merit
badges in emergency preparedness and first aid. Now was their
chance to test what they knew
under pressure.
"The idea is to test the skill level of the scouts,"
said Colleen Pundyk, who organized the mock emergencies. "The
incidents all have some blood, and all of them are different
to a great degree."
Never knowing what they were about to find, the scouts visited
a house on fire, a drowning, an explosion or two and several
other various and sundry accidents and disasters. "It's
very good for us, " said 13-year-old Alex Farivar. "It
teaches us real situations. It's a surprise drill, so they don't
know until 5 p.m."
At the Deason house on the 1700 block of San Vicente, a faux
party of drunken teenagers turned into a tangle of broken bones
and writhing bodies when one of them decided to jump into the
swimming pool... from on the roof.
Like expert actors, they all played their parts to perfection.
They moaned and wailed so loud that mom Susan Bryant-Deason
went to warn the neighbors that nothing bad had actually happened.
It so happens that assistant Scout master Ron Theile knows
a thing or two about fake blood and rubber injuries, so victims
at this house had bones protruding from their skin, blood squirting
out of gaping wounds.
"We try to make it as real as possible," said Theile.
The goal is to train the scouts to help out during a real-life
emergency like an earthquake. They can save lives and help treat
some injuries while waiting for paramedics.
"They get experience in assisting in crisis situations,"
said Liz Oyenoki, whose son Danny was participating in the drill.
"If we had a major catastrophe, they would be able to render
assistance."
For Gary Fulmer, who was floating in the Deason's swimming
pool with a broken back, the experience brought back some vivid
memories.
"I did this in the military," said Fulmer, who recently
retired from the navy.
