S.C. National Guard removes person from the pile of rubble

Thursday morning, the Holiday Inn has collapsed leaving people trapped beneath concrete and dirt. That's the day's scenario for the pile of rubble the S.C. National Guard is using as part of its week-long Vigilant Guard disaster drill in Beaufort County.
Broken hunks of concrete, rebar and dirt rest in the middle of an open field.
"Get me out of here," a man strewn across the top of the pile screams.
Upon closer inspection, people lie in haphazard angles amid the rubble.
Guardsmen and S.C. TFI, the state's emergency response task force, both sift through the remains of the mock hotel to locate and extract people hurt in the building collapse. Even a dog named Dixie, which searches for people trapped in buildings, practices for the real thing.

The groups using the rubble pile for training said it's been a valuable experience for them.
Dan McManus, team director for S.C. TFI, said working side by side with the Guard has helped his team learn about deploying and communications during an emergency.
"It's valuable getting out here face to face," McManus said.
But for other groups such as the 34th Civil Support Team of the Virginia National Guard, which is responsible for securing areas where there is chemical, biological or nuclear dangers, it is just another aspect of training.
Maj. Terry Thiem said the group has similar training drills 12 times per year. Today the group responded to the building collapse to find two 25 gallon cylinders of chlorine that needed to be contained before rescue workers could begin.