Judy A. Totts | The Gazette

MEDINA — The resounding boom shook the school bus and drew a gasp from the crowd gathered Friday in the grandstand at the Medina County Fairgrounds.

As smoke poured out of the bus windows, students screamed and the bus driver began a frantic call for assistance. With a second explosion, a tongue of flame shot up through the roof as the driver tried to pull one student to safety and emergency squads arrived.

The explosive event, with about 1,200 Ohio school bus drivers representing 20 counties in attendance, was one of four mock security and disaster scenarios presented by the Medina County Schools’ Educational Service Center in partnership with Medina County school transportation supervisors and Medina County emergency responders. The other scenarios depicted an angry parent entering the bus, an encounter with a tornado and a bomb threat.

Buck Adams, director of the Medina County Emergency Management Agency, said the exercise is designed to prepare school bus drivers for emergency situations. Drivers are required by law to take four hours of in-service training every year.

“The county does an in-service training once a year, but this was above and beyond the usual program. The last time we did something this big was in 2006 when we simulated a crash of a school bus and a train,” Adams said. “It’s beneficial to do a big one, because we can offer more information to participants. This one started out small, until Bonnie McNeely (secretary of the Educational Service Center) met William Arrington.”

After the train-bus crash training three years ago, McNeely, who coordinated the event, wanted to “blow up a school bus” as part of drivers’ awareness and safety training. William Koran, superintendent of the Educational Service Center, told her she could if she could get cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security.

When she met Arrington, general manager for the Office of Highway and Motor Carrier Security under the Transportation Security Administration based in Washington, D.C., Koran said she told him: “Will, I met a gentleman from Homeland Security, and he’ll help us blow up a bus.”

Arrington, whose responsibility for commercial motor vehicles includes truck, school bus and bridge and tunnel security, and Charles Hall, president of HMS Co. and program manager for First Observer (formerly School Bus Watch, an offshoot of Highway Watch), addressed the crowd.

Hall’s business focus is public safety, preparedness and awareness. His company trains drivers to be aware of and report suspicious actions by others.

When it comes to the safety and security of a half-million school buses carrying 25 million children every day, Arrington said it’s a job his office doesn’t take lightly.

Arrington and Hall stressed education of drivers, planning and training as key to addressing security and safety issues bus drivers face today.

The four scenarios on Friday were preludes to question-and-answer sessions presented by a panel of law enforcement and emergency responders.

Debbie Britton of Wadsworth, a bus driver with 27 years behind the wheel, said the in-service provides insight from other drivers and law enforcement personnel.

“It’s a good chance to see if you’re doing everything right,” Britton said. “During the scenarios we saw, I put myself in the place of the driver and asked if I would respond in the same way. I’ve learned a lot from other drivers by doing this.”

Lafayette Township resident Marilyn Bilek, transportation secretary for Cloverleaf Local Schools’ Transportation Department and a former bus driver, said from her viewpoint, the in-service was helpful in getting tips for dealing with parents who might have concerns or questions.

Sterling Medley and Tom Zitkovic, who drive for Medina City Schools, said their jobs have changed a lot.

“We didn’t have to be aware of situations like the bomb scare when I started,” said Zitkovic, who’s been driving 16 years. “We never thought about anyone putting a bomb on a bus.”

Contact Judy A. Totts at (330) 721-4063 or religion@ohio.net.

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