A magnitude 7.0 earthquake has ripped apart a section of sea floor off the Southern Oregon Coast, sending a 60-foot walk of water slamming into the shoreline. Oceanfront homes are washed away like sandcastles on the beach.

The port is obliterated. Boats are washed miles inland, left high and dry.

Bridges linking the small coastal towns fall to the incessant pounding series of massive waves, leaving the damaged communities isolated.

Thousands of residents are dead. Thousands of others are injured badly enough they might wish they were.

As incredible as it sounds, that scenario is entirely possible. Talk to people in emergency services and they say its not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

Cal-Ore Life Flight ambulance company has recently developed piece of equipment that will be able to help emergency service responders treat the injured. It's newly commissioned Mass Casualty Unit is built for just such a disaster.

The vehicle can be used as a triage unit to treat up to 150 people who would then be transported to area or regional hospitals. In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, it could be a life saver.

"The reason we felt the need for a vehicle such as this is due to if there was an earthquake, a tsunami and so on," explained Joe Gregorio, general manager of Cal-Ore.

If the unit looks like an old school bus, that's probably because it is. Dan Brattain, owner of Cal-Ore, said his son recognized it from the Gasquet to Crescent City runs for the Del Norte School District.

Nowadays, it's more like the Magic School Bus. Instead of passengers, the bus carries enough equipment to establish a temporary triage unit, serve as a decontamination facility in case of a hazardous materials spill, become a mobile communications center and more.

Some of the equipment on the bus includes: 16 portable radios, six Phillips defibrillator units which are infant friendly, a pair of laptop computers, three generators, gallons of water, MREs (meals ready to eat), a manullater which allows up to six patients use the same oxygen bottle, oxygen, back boards, and more.

"We have everything from bandages to burn kits," Gregorio explained.

Although the term "mass casualty" is generally associated with disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis or tornados, it isn't limited to those events. Gregorio said the vehicle could be utilized is something like a bus accident or multiple vehicle crash where the number of victims would overwhelm a few ambulance units.

He said Cal-Ore's mass casualty bus could roll with up to six paramedics on board. It could triage and treat victims which would free up the ambulances to transport them to area hospitals.

It can also be used to clean up a hazmat spill. The unit carries Class B suits and a tent that is plumbed with a sprinkler that would be used to hose down and contain contaminated victims or technicians.

"Our goal is to have five individuals from each department – five from Brookings Fire, five from Harbor Fire – HazMat qualified in the event of a problem in the area," Gregorio said.

Gregorio worked with Tracy DePew, AHEC-SW regional preparedness coordinator with Area Health Education Center, and Mike Murphey, emergency services coordinator for Curry County, in developing the unit.

Named after Mildred Perry, a benefactor of Cal-Ore, the unit can be deployed in Curry, Coos or Josephine Counties. Perry was a Brookings resident who utilized the company's services.

"She left Cal-Ore some money in her estate. We thought it would be a nice tribute," Brattain said.