Wright State’s National Center for Medical Readiness receives donated equipment from LION

The National Center of Medical Readiness received protective clothing and Smart Dummy manikins for training at Calamityville. From left: John Granby, LION’s vice president of domestic preparedness and government markets; Steve Colby, NCMR; a Smart Dummy; Jack Smith, NCMR; Steve Schwartz, LION CEO and fourth-generation family owner; and Rufus Smith, NCMR director.

Wright State University’s National Center for Medical Readiness (NCMR) at Calamityville received a large supply of personal protective clothing and urban search and rescue training equipment from LION, the world’s largest supplier of fire personal protective clothing for first responders.

“With this contribution, we are proud to aid in the development and growth of the National Center for Medical Readiness and to be of great assistance during training exercises on the grounds of Calamityville in Fairborn,” LION (formerly Lion Apparel, Inc.) CEO Steve Schwartz said. “It will help make NCMR a safer, more realistic training environment and, therefore, contribute to its long term success. We are committed to supporting NCMR, which also helps us grow our business and helps grow the region we have called home for over 115 years.”

The clothing donation, valued at about $70,000, will serve two purposes:

• It will protect the staff as they work and teach in Calamityville’s technical training zones, including the collapsed house, Tornado Alley and I-911, the simulated highway pileup.
• The gear will make it easier for students to identify the NCMR staff, which is particularly important during large-scale exercises.

“LION has been a longtime supporter of NCMR’s mission. We’re proud to have them as a partner, and we look forward to future collaborations,” said NCMR Director Rufus Smith.

Training at Calamityville prepares civilian and military medical communities to participate and react in an effective and meaningful manner with traditional disaster responders. This provides the nation with a more complete approach to finding patients, offering initial care and safely evacuating them from acute, disaster-related environments.

LION’s donation includes four Smart Dummy manikins and a GasTrainer system from LION’s BullEx fire training products group. The SmartDummy Rescue Manikin is tough and durable and meets the most rigorous training demands. At the same time, the SmartDummy can interact with rescuers. It feels, sounds and moves like a real person to increase the level of realism during training exercises.

Designed to replicate a four-gas meter, the BullEx GasTrainer system simulates and “detects” gas clouds and leaks using infrared radio technology enabling realistic scenarios. By detecting, displaying levels and alarming in real time, the GasTrainer system challenges students to interpret and react to a potential gas leak.

“This donation of important gear will provide our instructors and students with necessary protective clothing,” said NCMR Deputy Director Jim Gruenberg. “The gear is specifically engineered for urban search and rescue, so it will keep us safe from debris hazards as well as biohazards while setting up the technical training zones. The garments provide an extra layer of safety when working with students, who previously did not have sufficient protective clothing during training exercises. The garments also protect from extreme temperatures should there be a flash fire or other sudden emergency.”

About the National Center for Medical Readiness and LION

A state-of-the-art, collaborative training and research facility on 52 acres in Fairborn, NCMR prepares the civilian and military medical communities to participate and react in an effective and meaningful manner with traditional disaster responders. This provides the nation with a more complete approach to finding patients, offering initial care and safely evacuating them from acute disaster-related environments. Activity at NCMR’s Calamityville training grounds blends the principles of search and rescue, field assessment, stabilization, field triage and transport to the next level of care. Calamityville is the first site in the United States to fully integrate civilian and military relationships and medical and non-medical responses that occur in a disaster or other complex rescue situation.

LION is a family-owned, global business headquartered in Dayton that has been operating continuously since 1898. Municipal, state, federal and military agencies are its primary customers throughout the world. Its mission is to fulfill its customers’ personal safety, readiness and identity needs with innovative, game-changing solutions. LION is the world’s largest supplier of structural fire personal protective clothing for first responders, as well as a leading provider of cutting-edge training products and facilities through its BullEx and HAAGEN companies. Through traditional contracting and public-private partnership arrangements, customers rely on LION TotalCare and LION LVI to manage the lifecycle of their uniforms, protective equipment and training products.