Emergency drill at jail in Madras

Published 5:00 am Monday, April 22, 2013

What would happen if a large-scale disaster took place in Madras, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had to evacuate the inmates from the Jefferson County jail?

On Thursday, local law enforcement agencies and other groups will find out.

The drill, which is expected to take place Thursday, has been a goal for Sheriff Jim Adkins for three years, according to a news release. But, Adkins said, he’d been unable to come up with a situation in which the jail would have to be “evacuated.” Now he’s come up with the scenario, no matter how unlikely.

In the hypothetical situation, law enforcement will have to deal with an imaginary emergency involving a plane crashing into the jail, as well as “one disaster after another” for law enforcement and health officials to deal with.

Jefferson County reserve deputies and 50 local high school students will dress as inmates and plane crash victims and will be evacuated from the jail to alternate holding locations or to St. Charles Madras for treatment.

The drill will run from noon to 4 p.m., and Adkins wants the public to know that there may be more emergency vehicles on the streets than usual, but there is no real emergency or cause for concern.

In addition to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the drill will involve members of the Madras and Warm Springs police departments, as well as personnel from the Jefferson County and Warm Springs fire departments, the Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services, Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, Madras Airport and St. Charles Madras.