A heated and packed open house featured an architect presentation of designs for a fire station at the intersection of Hutton and Leavenworth roads.

The $4 million project will include three bays for fire rigs, plus a decontamination zone with positive air pressure to limit exposure to cancerous toxins. 

Those who attended the meeting had no problem with the design; rather, the project timeline raised questions.

Firefighters had to use struts, straps, and large chains to stabilize all involved vehicles before they could begin the work of safely removing all of the injured.

A firefighter and a Johnson County Med-Act paramedic were lifted through the emergency window of the bus to start evaluating injuries inside as other firefighters worked to cut a hole in the wall of the bus.

One-by-one the injured passengers of the bus were lifted off and then moved across the scene to Johnson County Med-Act’s triage area where their injuries would be evaluated further.

After all of the victims had been removed from the vehicles, firefighters and paramedics gathered to discuss the drill and assess their response and handling of the various aspects.