WEST BRANCH, Iowa — Officials have called a series of crashes along a six-mile stretch of I-80 east of Iowa City on Saturday a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI).
An MCI is “an event in which the number of injured or affected individuals overwhelms local emergency and healthcare resources in a short period of time, requiring a coordinated, multi-agency response,” the West Branch Fire Department posted on Facebook. Between 40 and 50 individuals were triaged — assessed to determine order of care — during Saturday’s incident.
Three West Branch FD crews and West Liberty Fire Department personnel were first dispatched to to the multi-vehicle crash near the 262 mile marker around 9:40 a.m. Saturday. West Branch FD established and maintained Incident Command from the 256 mile marker to beyond the 262 mile marker, with crews operating on and off I-80 until 6:30 p.m…