Shannon Weber’s view of the future is grim. She expects blood and gore, dozens of people with horrific injuries, passengers trapped in overturned vehicles and other signs of utter carnage.

But she’s not a psychic. As training officer for the Audrain Ambulance District she planned the catastrophic situation. The mass casualty incident is a crucial exercise for area first responders.

“This is training for us,” Weber explained. “One of the things we lack is mass casualty incident training.”

As training sessions go, the event planned for Aug. 19 at 6:30 p.m. on the grounds of Mexico High School is significant. There will be four wrecked vehicles, ambulances from stations in Audrain County, Mexico, Vandalia, Callaway, Boone, Montgomery and Marion counties.

Little Dixie Fire District crews will arrive on scene, as will firefighters and officers from Mexico Public Safety Department. The Audrain County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri Highway Patrol will take part, as well.

That’s approaching 140 people involved, including doctors and a helicopter crew.

Weber points out that rural departments must often rely on mutual aid support from other areas. The Audrain Ambulance District has three trucks at the ready, for example, but an incident of this magnitude would require 10 ambulances.

“These events prepare us to work as a team and show us where we fail,” she explained. “You would rather have us fail here.”

What makes this exercise unusual, apart from its size, is that the public is invited to look on. There will be observation areas roped off so residents can watch from a safe distance as the jaws of life tear into cars and responders triage the injured.

Wounds will range from cuts and bruises to life-threatening trauma. Some will be unconscious, others able to walk. The victims include adults and children, the youngest being just one year old.

Each volunteer has been provided with some guidelines to their injuries and their character. Make up will simulate blood, black eyes and worse.

“There might be guts hanging out,” Weber said, hinting at the degree of realism. As far as anyone playing dead, she is a bit more tight lipped.

“You’ll have to come and find out,” she added with a smile. “I can’t give away all the secrets.”

First responders have only been told the number of victims and cars. The helicopter team is prepared to whisk away one victim.

Everything else will be as in an actual call. They will know only what dispatchers can tell them: location, perhaps a description of vehicles, but little else.

“Most of the injured are people from the field” — EMTs, firefighters, officers — “so they are prepared,” Weber noted. “They will take it very seriously.”

Again, while it will be a sobering show for the audience, the event is necessary preparation for responders. There will be a few observing alongside spectators. After the scene is cleared, they will join participating responders to debrief.

Weber conceived of the massive training exercise after helping out in the wake of the Joplin tornado.

“That was a terrible experience,” she said, adding that the lack of repeated mass casualty simulation was obvious on the ground. “After that I decided I needed training.”

She plans to set up some form of mass casualty exercise every year.

Most of the responders taking part are doing so on a voluntary basis. For the firefighters at Little Dixie it is part of their regular training schedule.

A1 Towing donated the cars for the event. Pearl Motors and Edward Jones — both Mexico and Centralia offices — are providing water. Casey’s and Domino’s in Mexico will deliver pizzas for the group.

Weber explains that a landing area for the helicopter will be set up on site. However, if it is not safe to land — if spectators are too close — it will head to a secondary pad.

The last thing she wants are real injuries to occur.