On April 7, Toronto Fire Services' Special Operations Training Centre at 200 Bermondsey Road, hosted a mass casualty search and rescue exercise from a collapsed structure.

Initially, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) search dogs identified where about 20-30 people were trapped under concrete, wood and steel rubble, then the Toronto Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team (HUSAR) performed technical rescue operations.

HUSAR is, "the location of trapped persons in collapsed structures using dogs and sophisticated search equipment; the use of heavy equipment such as cranes to remove debris; the work to breach, shore, remove and lift structural components; the treatment and removal of victims; and the securing of partially or completely collapsed structures. These Teams are expected to be completely self sufficient for 72 hours."

Search and rescue in a collapsed structure is a highly complicated and dangerous task. It involves a team of well-trained individuals in a variety of disciplines. In order to be prepared for any eventuality, the Team's training is ongoing, encountering many different types of scenarios.

Toronto HUSAR in conjunction with Sunnybrook - Osler Centre for Pre-Hospital Care, developed the mutually beneficial scenario that was designed to exercise their emergency procedures and guidelines.

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