First responders discuss San Bernardino terror attack experience

UPDATE 5:42 p.m.

Days may come and go, but for Tom Lynch, December 2nd, 2015 is a date still fresh in his mind. “I would obviously say it was extremely stressful,” Lynch, an EMS administrator for Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) said. “I’ve been doing this for many, many years, and this was probably the most difficult to manage incident I’ve ever been involved with.” Lynch stood before fellow first responders at a trauma conference Friday recounting the events of the San Bernardino mass shooting, one of the deadliest in modern U.S. History. But looking back, Lynch called that day “lucky,” crediting nearby law enforcement officers, and those like registered nurse Steve Casarez who were all hands on deck at local hospitals. “Some of my colleagues are trauma surgery residents who were actually down in the clinic, working up their surgery clinics when this took place,” Casarez said. “So, getting the surgery residents and the surgeons on board, they were all there in the trauma bays within 15 to 20 minutes.” Lynch said out of everything discussed at the conference, he hopes the biggest point first responders take away after the shooting is to be prepared, and to always stay aware. While some physical scars may be gone, he said the emotional scars are still fresh on the men and women who helped save lives, and continue to be on guard. “It was a tragic loss, but we don’t want that loss to be in vain,” Lynch said. Both Lynch and Casarez said communication systems also played a key role in their response to the attack, as well as SWAT teams training close to where the shooting took place.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 11:55 a.m.

Hundreds of emergency personnel gathered in Moreno Valley Friday morning to hear from first responders and incident managers about their experience from last year’s terror attack in San Bernardino, also known as the Waterman Incident.

A major focus of the conference is to discuss new techniques and strategies in dealing with mass casualties and integration with the larger emergency response system.

Emergency personnel at the conference includes firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses.

KESQ and CBS Local 2’s Zak Dahlheimer was at the conference in Moreno Valley Friday morning and he’ll talk about some of these new techniques that were discussed coming up on KESQ News Channel 3 at 5 p.m. and on CBS Local 2 News at 5:30 p.m.