NORWICH – Medical crews in the area have been visiting the Norwich Fire Station this week to get special training at Air Methods’ patient simulator lab parked outside.

The mobile lab, a trailer containing a high-tech training room which can simulate a wide range of medical emergencies, tests knowledge from basic first aid to serious hospital traumas, explained Flight Medic Mike Morris.

From a computer console, Morris’ colleague Flight Paramedic Dwain Gallt controls the response and injuries of a “patient” in the next room. While Norwich ambulance crews work to treat the faux patient, Gallt controls the type and extent of injuries and can even speak through the life-like mannequin in the next room.

In the training room, medical staff use the exact same tools they would use at the scene of a real-life accident and attempt to stabilize the mannequin’s condition.