JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Emergency responders have already played this disaster scenario game as a means to train for what they do. They liked it so much they are busting it out for a general public run.
Teton County Emergency Management will host the Koshland Science Museum’s “Extreme Event” game for the public. This free event gives participants the chance to play various roles in the community as they build disaster resilience and then apply those preparations to a simulated real-time disaster. The activity is highly interactive and appropriate for ages ranging from high school through adults.
“We became aware of this activity a few years ago through emergency management channels,” said Rich Ochs, coordinator for the county’s Emergency Management team. “We tried it a couple of times with our Community Emergency Response Team volunteers, and we received great feedback from them. Now we’re ready to deliver it to the public.”
The game puts participants into random roles such as fire chief, apartment complex owner, hardware store manager, parent, mayor, and others in a fictitious community. In groups, participants play their roles as they determine which limited resources their community will invest in to build disaster resilience. Then, participants must apply their resources to a simulated disaster scenario.
“Extreme Event raises awareness of risk-based planning and how crucial whole-community participation is to building true disaster resilience,” Jenny Kruger said. She’s TCEM’s program assistant. “It’s the best way we have found so far to increase understanding of these complex issues in a little over an hour.”
Interested? Check it out, then head to the Teton County Library on Wednesday, November 8, 6pm.
