Schuylkill County’s emergency management team did such an outstanding job responding to a massive 80-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 in March that word of its great work reached Texas.

On Wednesday, county commissioners lauded Emergency Management Agency Coordinator John M. Matz for his role in leading that team, and on being invited to the Lone Star State to show them how its done.

Matz will attend the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council Preparedness Coalition Symposium, to be held Nov. 2-4 in Galveston.

SETRAC provides support through planning, facilitation, data collection, operations, and the provision of technical assistance to the region for clinical and preparedness services, its website says.

The symposium is an opportunity for “national collaboration, sharing of information, best practices, and new innovations,” the agenda says.

Topics include healthcare, public health, EMS, public safety, trauma, and emergency management.

Matz said that about a week after the multi-fatality crash, which was caused by a sudden snow squall, he listened to a message on his phone from a SETRAC representative.

“When I returned the call, she asked if I would consider speaking at their annual conference about the incident on I-81, which they had seen on the national news,” he said.

“As we were still quite busy, I had put it off for a few weeks. When she called back, we discussed it further and I submitted a speaker’s package and application for review by the committee. I then received a call during August indicating that I was accepted as a speaker,” Matz said.

“I plan to do a presentation that will include a Power Point and videos relating to the incident, along with details of how the entire community came together during this tragic event,” he said.

The crash, which claimed six lives and injured at least 24 more, happened at 10:36 a.m. March 28 at the Minersville exit onto Route 901 in Foster Township.

Matz synchronized the organizations, alerting hospitals and making sure shelters were available, arranging transportation, and talking with state Department of Transportation officials to clear and salt roads and determine the fastest routes for ambulances and fire crews to get to the crash.

Firefighters worked until well after midnight that Monday to extinguish burning vehicles and clean up diesel and gasoline spills.

By Tuesday evening, March 30, towing companies began to clear away the crushed and burned vehicles. It wasn’t until April that all of the victims were identified.