Hanson talk outlines rise, fall of timber frame building

HANSON — It’s said “they don’t build ’em like they used to” — but there is also an adage that “everything old is new again.”

Both can be applied to timber frame building, according to carpenter and historian of his craft Stephen Kemmett, who spoke on New England timber frame construction during the Hanson Historical Society’s final meeting of the season on Thursday, Aug. 2 at the town’s historic Schoolhouse No. 4.

Timber frame construction, it seems, is on something of a minor comeback among a clientele of means, but Kemmett cautioned that care must be taken in the trade so that demand doesn’t outstrip the raw materials — trees.

It happened once before when, paired with the demand for more economical and faster construction methods, the ancient craft of timber framing nearly died out completely.

“It’s gone 360˚,” he said. “It started off as a tradition of rich people wanting to tell the world about their affluence and their power and it has turned into a building system that’s mostly only available to affluent people.”

Kemmett has worked for six and a half years as an interpretive historian/carpenter at Plimouth Plantation and for the past two years has been learning timber framework techniques in the Midwest.

“These [restored] buildings are worth saving,” he said. “If you have any kind of idea of sustainability … it’s craftsmanship — sometimes good, sometimes bad — but regardless, these are trees that have already been cut down.”

The trees required are big ones.

“There is a serious concern if we become more than 5 percent of the housing market, we’ll deplete all the big trees and that’s something that none of the timber-framers want. … And as a whole, I’ve found it to be a community of people who care about sustainability.”

Before the presentation, Historical Society Co-president John Norton announced that a donation of a volume “The History of Plymouth County,” circa 1880. Norton joked that the hefty illustrated book “looks like ‘Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary’ but includes some valuable genealogical data on Hanson.

“You’d have to know what you’re looking for because the thing’s about 4,000 pages,” he said of the old book, which is in delicate condition.

A pharmacist’s scale once used at Plymouth County Hospital, was also donated to the Society by the David Ryan family.

The scale was a gift to Dr. David Ryan on his retirement and donated by his daughter, according to member Allan Clemons. Norton said the scale, like many of the Society’s artifacts are going to be displayed at the Bonney House when renovations are complete.

Fittingly for a steamy summer evening, the meeting and Kemmett’s talk was capped off with strawberries and ice cream and soft drinks over ice.

Kemmett began his talk with a description of what timber framing is — a building framed with timbers measuring four inches by four inches or larger, with six-by-six being more common.

“You can’t hold it together with just nails,” he said. “You can in some small parts, but generally it’s held together with mortise and tenons.”

The building style came to the New World with colonization, where it is a 3,000 year-old-plus tradition in the Old World with the oldest having been found in Egypt.

“We know that things like Stonehenge were built using mortise and tenons,” he said. “Now, those are stone, but it’s believed that there are more wooden henges far before that and that they led to the stone monoliths that you see in England.”

The early henge-like frames were covered with sticks and woven grasses to make small, low houses that were “comfortable for the times.” Ventilation was also poor.

Invading Saxons brought timber framing to England from Germany. A church built in the style in Cheddar, England between 500 and 800 AD is still standing today, Kemmett noted, providing a wealth of information on the intricate skill involved in the construction method.

But as farming developed economy and permitted specialized labor, carpentry became a skilled craft that created more ornate homes for the ruling classes as well as improvements in housing for ordinary folks.

“As a carpenter, you really can’t survive on building one home every 10 years,” he said. “So they start to find cheaper, easier ways to build these — they make the materials smaller, they find faster ways of hewing — so England develops a vernacular tradition, which simply means other people are doing it including famers building their own houses.”

But, to earn the title of carpenter in England during that era, one had to serve a seven-year apprenticeship to become even a journeyman and work under a master carpenter. The guild system — as a fraternity, social society and entrance to a trade — of that time was more organized and more powerful than today’s unions in their heyday.

With the Norman invasion from France in 1066 came more adaptable styles of framing, involving smaller, modular framing units that revolutionized the trade, Kemmett said.

That was the type of framing that was brought over to the New England Colonies as soon as people could afford it.

“They cut down the trees from here to as far west as they could get, and this really jumpstarts the American timber-framing tradition,” he said. With larger families and the broken guild system, it became easier to find the number of people needed to help build a large house in a shorter time.

Repairing timber-frame housing when rot set in became the bread-and butter of many carpenters of the era.

“There’s a tendency to view traditional houses as all craftsmanship,” he said. “In truth, they had no more an eye toward craftsmanship than any human being throughout the rest of history has ever had toward it. If they need to get a building up cheap and easy, that’s how they do it and, if somebody is willing to spend the time and money to build a nice house, then they do it.”

The saltbox style, which originated in America, combined the traditional English hall-and-parlor house with added storage space. More two-story houses followed and in the South, large airy rooms helped keep houses ventilated in humidity.

Agriculture, including horses and oxen, became vital to the logging industry to supply the demand for timber in New England and the Midwest, giving rise to sawmills. The river system of the west led to a construction and settlement boom. Railroad construction, especially, depleted trees.

“Then they start running out of timber,” he said. “They’ve clearcut everything that’s available, the only big trees are on the mountains and all that’s left is the spindly stuff.”

Builders refused to frame houses with it. And the seven years required to build timber frame houses also contributed to the decline of the trade.

Today, less than 1 percent of houses being built are of timber-frame construction, including log homes. By the 1960s and ’70s there were only four or five people left with the skills needed for restoration work. Most work involved tear-downs.

But that spurred an interest in restoration, especially of antique barns. Through a trial-and-error learning curve, several barns were destroyed, but the skills were relearned.

“You’re starting to see revival of the form, but they were just copying,” Kemmett said. “It’s an industry that’s growing because there’s something about that classic craftsmanship both for the person that’s building it and for the building itself.”

HANSON — Board of Health and Conservation agent Matthew Tanis has resigned from his positions in Hanson effective July 31.

He has accepted the position as health agent for the town of Raynham.

Selectmen accepted his resignation as conservation agent with regret at the Tuesday, July 24 meeting. Selectmen are not responsible for hiring a health agent — that is the purview of the Board of Health, which had already accepted his resignation — so the board did not have to vote on that letter.

“This position has given me invaluable knowledge and experience, and for that I am very grateful,” Tanis wrote to Town Administrator Michael McCue in his letter of resignation as Health Agent. “Please know that this decision was a very difficult one to make. I value the time I have spent working for the town of Hanson and the friends I have made during my tenure.”

He explained that he had left the conservation role July 9 because the extra duties, including open space management, required more than the 20 hours per week he was contracted for, but McCue said he had spoken to Tanis about working in that role until his July 31 departure as well.

Selectman Matt Dyer requested that an exit interview be conducted with Tanis to determine whether there is enough support for the health and conservation departments. He also asked that the results of that exit interview be shared with the board.

“When you lose one employee in a two-person department, [you don’t want them to feel overwhelmed],” Dyer said.

Tanis has been setting up arrangements with individuals who can perform perc tests, restaurant inspections and other services until a new Health Agent can be hired.

“I think we’re going to be alright in the short term,” McCue said.

“He was an asset and I’m sorry to see him go,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I do wish him the best.”

Also submitting resignations — from the Hanson Housing Authority — were Joseph Weeks and Benjamin Fletcher, both citing personal reasons.

With only three members left on that board, FitzGerald-Kemmett asked what Selectmen could do to help fill the vacancies. McCue said it would be on the Tuesday. Aug. 14 agenda as there are also things, as far as ensuring that proper election protocol is followed, that have to be addressed. Both positions are elected so, while Selectmen votes to accept were not required, he said it would be a good move to make.

In other business, Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV Executive Director Eric Dresser provided an update on progress on activities and equipment updates at the facility.

“We’re in a really great place right now,” Dresser said, noting that back-reporting has been caught up and an annual inventory had been conducted with outdated equipment sold off, recycled or otherwise disposed in order to free up space for more modern equipment.

New windows have also been installed to ensure better energy savings and in-studio sound quality. An editing lab has also been installed, creating more opportunities for community members to work on video projects as well as for WHCA to bring in more interns for continuing education opportunities.

“We’re a lot like the library that way, where all of our equipment can be checked out and used,” Dresser said.

Making WHCA camera equipment available to the community is aimed at “finding its way to the channel” rather than for personal projects, because Comcast bills finance the equipment, Dresser explained.

“There’s certain things that end up, as we say, on the cutting room floor and we understand that,” he said. “It’s not that everything has to end up on the channel but we’d like some things to come onto the channel for the people of the community to enjoy.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the WHCA staff is very helpful in showing people how to use cameras and editing equipment.

HANOVER — It took four ballots on Wednesday, July 18, but Hanson representative Christopher G. Amico was elected as chairman of the South Shore Regional School Committee for the 2018-19 school year.

Two representatives — Robert L. Mahoney of Rockland and John T. Manning of Scituate — of the eight member communities were absent.

Through the first three ballots, Amico and then-Chairman Robert L. Molla Jr., of Norwell were tied at three votes each.

“This is a first, you know,” Whitman representative Daniel L. Salvucci said during the fourth round of voting.

“Do we play rock, paper, scissors after this?” Amico quipped in reply.

On the final ballot, Amico received three votes and Molla two with Molla himself abstaining to decide the matter.

After the meeting Molla, who has been chairman off and on during his 41                                                                       years on the School Committee, said he abstained to break the tie and congratulated Amico on his win.

“I’d like to say thank you to Bob Molla for the last several years serving as chairman,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey. “It’s been a pleasure to work with you [in that capacity] … We’ve done a lot of great things in the past few years.”

A second ballot was required for the vice chairmanship, despite Robert P. Heywood of Hanover receiving four votes, because Mahoney and Manning were tied for second place with a vote each. Heywood was then elected unanimously.

Secretary-Treasurer James Coughlin reported the school district received $10,000 more in Chapter 70 aid than was expected as well as $244,000 as the year’s final installment of regional transportation aid as it closed the books on fiscal 2018.

“With that regional transportation receipt, we are over our budgeted number by about $124,000,” he said. “Overall, the revenue was strong for this year.”

The School Committee voted a series of budget transfers resulting from efforts by Coughlin and Hickey to identify savings. Before the surplus transfers were brought for a vote, Hickey provides the opportunity to some departments to overspend a bit in the interest of completing the educational process, Coughlin said, noting the budget process begins in November and must estimate line item costs between 15 and 18 months ahead. That can result in savings when estimates are over actual expenditures.

A “significant” saving of $98,000 in health insurance costs, meanwhile was used to fund deficits in other areas such as the electricity bill, which was up for a few months because Scituate’s solar panels were offline for six to eight weeks.

Those transfers approved July 18 were to:

• encumber $742,319.65 of 2017-18 non-resident tuition to reduce 2018-19 assessments to member towns;

• credit $10,974.24 to surplus revenue for warrants payable for the 2016-17 budget;

• debit $17.49 from surplus revenue to accrued salaries from 2016-17 budget;

• encumber $124,486 from surplus revenue — excess regional transportation funding to fund a regional transportation fund to be expensed in 2018-19;

• encumber $365,000 from surplus revenue for safety and security expenses;

• encumber $383,000 from surplus revenue for maintenance, building and grounds expenses;

• encumber $113,912 from excess and deficiency for instructional technology/vocational equipment and supplies; and

• debit $7,693.43 from surplus revenue for reserve for encumbrances for the 2016-17 budget.

The School Committee also approved a five-year bus lease for 12 propane-powered buses at $238,660 per year from Anderson Blue Bird of Providence, R.I., the same company the district works with on its current propane bus contract.

The lease expires on Dec. 31, 2018, at which time four diesel buses will be traded in and the new buses will be delivered brings the school fleet to 15 buses — 12 propane and three diesel spares.

The buses do not come equipped with seatbelts.

In other business, Hickey outlines summer projects being undertaken at the school, including construction of a new greenhouse for the horticulture program to be completed in late fall, completing renovations on the barn/locker room project, shop and library floor upgrades, upgrades to sound systems in the cafeteria and gym, renovation work in the girls’ bathroom near the gym and removal of the concrete archway at the restaurant entrance.

“I’ll set aside a piece of concrete for each of you for sentimental reasons for those of you needing a paperweight,” Hickey said. “It’s part of the attempt to upgrade the entrance way here, seeing it as both a showcase — for potentially having the restaurant have outdoor patio seating — and also a space for our horticultural program for plant sales and otherwise.”

HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, July 10 voted to support several steps toward supporting economic development in town, particularly in the Main Street (Route 27) corridor.

Among those steps is the process of adopting a Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) program. Guidelines adopted by the board will be used as a roadmap for a TIF Committee — which the board approved — for work in the Main Street area. The TIF program would have to be approved by voters at the October Town Meeting.

The board also voted to declare it as an Economic Opportunity Area (EOA). Selectmen also received information about an Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) letter of intent application for a project at 1101 Main St., authorizing Chairman Kenny Mitchell and Town Administrator Michael McCue to sign it.

McCue also recommended that the TIF Committee include representatives from the Board of Assessors, Planning Board, Finance Committee, the Board of Selectmen and himself. Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett volunteered to sit on the committee, which McCue said would only meet when letters of intent are received. Selectmen voted to appoint FitzGerald-Kemmett to the TIF Committee.

“Like most things I do, it’s an amalgamation of what other towns have done, to include some experience that I’ve had in the past,” McCue said of the TIF guidelines. He added state guidelines have made it easier than was experienced by past communities in which he has worked.

While she voiced support for the TIF program, FitzGerald-Kemmett expressed concern about applicant criteria.

“One of the things I want to make sure of is that it’s somebody that we’ve done due diligence [on], that they’ve got good financials,” she said. “If they are in Hanson that they’ve paid their taxes, that they don’t have building code violations already — in other words, I don’t want to be rewarding people who, basically, haven’t been good business partners, or partners at all with the town.”

McCue said the TIF Committee will be charged with establishing qualification criteria as is also required by the state.

“I’m extremely excited about this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This is the first step of what we need to do in order to get things cracking there.”

“I like this stuff, too,” McCue said.

He also provided the board with a map of the EOA area — the former Ocean Spray property — and assessor’s cards on properties within it. That doesn’t mean other parcels could not be added later “as we get more comfortable with the process,” McCue said.

“This is just a start,” he said. “It’s one of the most identifiable potential locations for economic development and it greases the tracks in terms of going before the state to get their approval for any TIFs that we may, on a local level, approve.”

He said it also opens the door for other grants and automatically rolls in benefits, including a credit from the state, to whoever works to develop abandoned or underused properties there.

In other business, Selectmen voted to adopt a fuel-efficient vehicle policy for town departments.

The issue was tabled June 19 after the police and fire department heads expressed concern about their ability to afford continued use of vehicles they now have or purchases of new vehicles in the future. After conversations with the chiefs, McCue said the vehicles they are concerned about were exempted from the policy.

“The real impact will come — and it will — if and when we reach the point where we want to hand a vehicle down [to another department from police or fire], which has been a tradition in town,” McCue said. “However, the benefits far outweigh the detriments in terms of expenses.”

He said Bridgewater has already received $800,000 in various environmental incentive grants over the past five or six years. Cohasset had received $300,000; Easton $750,000; Hanover more than $1 million and Kingston just short of $1 million.

McCue estimated that within the five or six years before he sees Hanson needing to transfer or buy new equipment, the Green Communities grants will “far, far outweigh the expense of picking up a new vehicle.” The fuel efficient vehicle policy and completion of a no-cost National Grid energy efficiency assessment are required to qualify for the Green Communities program, potentially by the end of the fiscal 2019 year.

Selectmen also voted to switch the sponsorship reference of the board as primary applicant of a Plymouth County Hospital/CPC Phase 2 application, which lists the final Plymouth County Hospital Reuse Committee as a secondary applicant. Selectmen will now be secondary applicant with the PCH Reuse Committee as the primary.

FitzGerald-Kemmett, who is the former CPC chairman, said it was the PCH Reuse Committee’s place to come to Selectmen looking for support for their own application to the CPC.

As of Monday, a Hanson man in his 60s remained in intensive care at Brockton Hospital following a near-drowning on West Lake of Monponsett Pond on Saturday, July 7.

A neighbor checked the area after seeing an overturned canoe and pulled the man from the water on the West Lake at Ocean Avenue.

Halifax police and fire were recognized in a thank you via social media Sunday night by Sergeant Sterling of Halifax Police.

“I am very proud of my co-workers, officer McDonnell, officer Acevich and off-duty paramedic Dillon Riley, who were the first ones on scene. Our training kicked in and we worked as a well-oiled machine in our life saving efforts. Huge props to the resident who pulled the individual from the water.”

Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson also commended the efforts of first responders and the individuals who investigated the overturned canoe.

“The actions taken by everyone involved will hopefully be a positive outcome,” said Thompson.

Hanson police officers as well as the environmental police were on scene investigating Sunday afternoon.

“The actions taken by everyone prior to our arrival contributed to our crew being able to transport this patient to the hospital and give him a fighting chance at survival,” read a Hanson Fire Tweet on social media. “Great job!”

HANOVER — The South Shore Vo-Tech School Committee gave retiring Principal Margaret Dutch a warm send-off during its Wednesday, June 20 meeting.

Mark Aubrey takes over as principal with the new fiscal year, which started on July 1.

School Committee Chairman Robert Molla of Norwell presented Dutch with a plaque saluting her “professionalism, attention to detail and commitment to putting students’ education at the center of all your decisions. You’ve been a reliable and caring leader and have earned the respect and admiration of parents, staff and students.”

Dutch, in turn, said she was thankful for the opportunity.

“I’m grateful for the trust that you placed in me and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” she said.

Graphic Communications/Visual Design student Elizabeth Trull, a sophomore from Rockland, was recognized as the Student of the Month for June.

Assistant Princiapl Aubrey, still in his role as assistant superintendent during the June 20 meeting, reported that Trull was selected based on faculty comments that she is a “creative, positive, hard-working and kind” student who is also an “advocate for her peers.”

Trull is a three-sport athlete — volleyball, basketball and softball — a student ambassador, member of SkillsUSA and Business Professionals of America.

Social studies teacher Tammy Glass was honored as June Staff Member of the Month, as nominated by SSVT students. She has been a teacher at the school since 2015 and students lauded her expertise in the subject as well as her willingness to experiment with new projects and assessments to push students to excel. She is also a class adviser and prom volunteer, overseeing the construction of a chandelier designed and built by the shops this year.

Every year since 2009 in the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, an open house has been held on the day before the first day of the school year to allow elementary and middle school students the chance to meet their teachers and become accustomed to a new classroom and/or building.

This fall, however, plans for the open houses have been complicated by the Maquan School closing in Hanson and how it affects teachers and programs moving to Indian Head and Duval elementary schools, Hanson Middle School and WHRHS, raising concerns among some parents.

Hanson parents’ concerns were raised at a Monday, June 18 building transition update meeting with school officials assuring parents during the Wednesday, June 20 School Committee meeting that they would continue discussing how to handle the issue and pledging to quickly communicate any decision with parents.

Three Hanson residents among a group attending the meeting spoke to the School Committee in favor or keeping the traditional open house.

“As a parent, just having the opportunity to meet the person that they will be spending the next 180 school days with the night before, will ease a lot of anxiety,” one mother said, who has been a teacher required to transfer to a new building. “I also think that there is so much change happening for Hanson — we’re losing an elementary school, we’re losing a principal and gaining a new principal. We’re also gaining a new assistant principal … and new superintendent. There are a lot of changes that are facing families and students in this district and Hanson in particular.”

While she conceded some change is inevitable in life, she said she is not sure so much change at one time is good.

“I think the open house has proven a really effective strategy for handling those first-day jitters, [and] new parents get to meet people in town,” another parent said.

Whitman schools are going ahead with the usual day before the first day of open house because only Duval is affected by transitions stemming from the Maquan closing.

“There was a little rumbling about open house there, as well,” said WHRHS Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak, who takes the helm as superintendent in July. Duval’s open house will, however, take place the night before school starts as usual. Szymaniak said he wanted to meet with new Indian Head Principal Jill Coutreau before making any decisions.

School Committee member Christopher Howard, a Hanson resident with two young children, said he saw two issues at work — a normal open house and this year.

“This is not a normal year,” he said. “I think everyone recognizes there’s lot going on, there might be some 12th-hour things that have to happen this year to do something fantastic, but I am a huge fan of open house the night before.”

He said that, on that night,  the focus of parents and children is on school and getting everyone together in that environment is helpful to reduce anxiety and avoid conflict with other activities.

Fellow Hanson School Committee member and parent Robert O’Brien Jr., agreed and asked if there was a way to modify the event.

School Committee Chris Scriven of Whitman, meanwhile, did not see a problem with making accommodation for the unusual circumstances this year.

“I think I might be missing what the concerns are,” he said.

“I think it’s the opportunity to meet the teachers the night before,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said.

She explained that was the reason principals within the district suggested the event nine years ago.

“Principals that brought that forward — [including retired principals] Elaine White and Ellen Stockdale — believed that it was better for students to have an opportunity to see the school right before it started to help with some anxiety the first day of school,” Gilbert-Whitner. “This year, it’s a little bit different because of the changes that are going on.”

Teachers had also expressed questions and concerns about the move through union official Kevin Kavka. Open house, and the pressure of moving classrooms from one building to another or within buildings and not being ready for open house, was among those concerns, Gilbert-Whitner said. An extra day for an open house would mean an extra personal day for teachers, according to their contract.

“Their request was could they possibly move open house to another date,” she said. “They know their rooms have to be ready for the first day of school, but when their rooms are ready for open house, they want the bulletin boards up, they want to give the best possible look to the classroom and, I think there were concerns that it wouldn’t look the way they wanted it to.”

Gilbert-Whitner said she thought the parents already knew that information, and when she learned otherwise she was surprised, but declined to point to anyone as being at fault.

Parents attending the session said the open house was more important as a day to meet teachers than for perfect bulletin boards.

“Nothing is written in stone,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “This is a unique year.”

Szymaniak said alternatives have been looked to, including an opportunity to explore the schools the day before the year starts and an open house at a later date.

Some classrooms at Indian Head won’t be ready until mid-August, he noted. He said the event there could include older students showing the Maquan students around, an ice cream social and a special opening of the new Indian Head playground.

“My priority on [Aug. 27 and 28] and of my teachers is to be prepared for students on that Wednesday and have a ‘Welcome back — Welcome to our new school’ with a lot of energy,” he said.

Szymaniak also offered the opportunity for school walk-throughs for students who have difficulty with change.

New Duval Principal Dr. Darlene Foley, who was also introduced at the School Committee meeting, plans to survey her staff about open house over the summer.

“Darlene is the solidification of our team,” Szymaniak said in making that introduction to the committee. “It’s been a long month and a half or so, with some great candidates, but I think we got the cream of the crop.”

Foley has already been to visit Maquan and Indian Head before the end of the school year to look at the special education programs that are transitioning to Duval.

“I’m really excited to be working at Duval,” she said. “I feel it’s already a very special place and I’ve met terrific people at Duval and at the other two schools and central office and I feel very supported already.”

Gilbert-Whitner said the physical transition of the buildings are continuing and lauded the assistance from town departments.

“We are indebted to the town of Whitman for their dedicated effort in getting on top of this project and what they’ve done as an in-kind contribution,” Gilbert-Whitner said of the work DPW crews are doing on the parent drop-off driveway for the preschool program at WHRHS. “They’ve saved this project an awful lot of money.”

HANSON — When a “tornado” struck, the state’s assisted living, nursing and rehabilitation facilities had to coordinate evacuations from affected areas.

It was just a drill, but an important one.

Among the facilities participating in the mock facility evacuation scenario on Tuesday, June 19 was All American Assisted Living in Hanson where resident volunteers were staged awaiting transportation to “Resident Accepting Facilities” within MassMAP. It was part of a full-scale, statewide annual exercise for simulating disaster at nursing facilities and covered how staff and families would be notified, recovery and repair of building damage — down to working with local public safety personnel.

Responders included the professionally trained staff at the Hanson facility – which consist of nurses, certified nursing assistants, physical therapists, and other professional staff. Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., Lt. Sherilyn Mullin and Lt. Charles Barends as well as Hanson Police Sgt. Peter Casey represented the town’s first responders at the drill.

No patients were actually moved in the exercise — “evacuations” were done via fax machine on this day.

“Everyone [on staff] has their priority, it’s just how does it fall into disaster mode?” said facilitator Darren Osleger of Russell Phillips & Associates (RPA), a fire and emergency management consulting firm out of Fairport, N.Y. “It’s very similar to incident command … a fairly new concept in health care.”

Osleger said after the event that he thought the exercise went well.

“What we’re trying to do is better prepare ourselves and put ourselves in a position so, if we ever had to evacuate a building like that, through communicating with the coordinating center, having … the team really figure out certain tasks, they were able to identify open beds and correct fit for the residents if they had to be moved.”

The All American staff communicated with other participating facilities via computer and telephone to find open beds for evacuating patients.

“We are proud to have been chosen to participate in this exercise, although we spend countless hours training all of our associates in disaster events, a real live drill allows us to put our training to the test,” All American Assisted Living Executive Director Kristen Ward said before the event.

Chief Thompson said the exercise provided, especially for his command staff, the ability to iron out any problems or work with All American so things would run smoother if something did happen.

“We’re here to observe and assist them,” he said. “It gives an opportunity to see how they would handle stuff internally before we got here.”

The purpose of the exercise is to evaluate the interaction of the long-term care/mutual aid plan (LTC-MAP) members in each region in preparation for internal events. Though rare in such communities, the evacuation of an assisted living community is a complex event requiring significant coordination with the local community and region to ensure the safety of all residents, associates, and family members involved.

“I was impressed,” said Community Relations Director Bonnie Durrell at the midpoint of the tabletop exercise in which All American had to find beds in other facilities for eight male residents and 17 females, plus an additional 13 residents requiring care in a secure or dementia facility. “We have a plan in place, now we’ve used it and we have somebody to call and there’s a chain of command. … It’s going really well.”

The resident volunteers were given name tags bearing the name of the “victim” they were portraying for the exercise and a go-bag representing the one they would take with them in a real emergency. The bags would contain their medications — represented this day by candies or placebos — and a change of clothes.

“When they had the flooding in Texas, they were saying everyone had totes [packed with their needed belongings], which looked heavy,” Ward said. “We thought that it would be good to have a bug-out bag for this drill so they would have at least their meds and a change of clothes. The most important thing is that their medications go with them and for each of them we have their prescription list.”