When the 35W Bridge collapsed one year ago, 126 people were rushed to hospitals around the Metro.

This week, Hennepin County Medical Center received a prestigious national award for its work with 35W victims.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with some of the men and women on the front lines of emergency care about how they handled the catastrophe and how it changed the way they would handle another event.

Emergency operators took the firsts calls on Aug. 1, 2007, not realizing right away what had happened.

"We got several other calls for water emergences, people in the water. We were trying to figure out what's going on," said Emergency Coordinator Nick Taylor.

It didn't take long to see the 35W Bridge had collapsed and they had a major disaster on their hands.

"Everyone was coming in to help and working long hours," said Taylor.

They made sure emergency crews got to where they needed to be, mobilizing all their ambulances.

One of the first to the scene was EMS Supervisor David Hildebrandt.

"Wow this is really happening. At that point, not knowing how many were killed or injured," explained Hildebrandt.

Paramedics rushed 31 patients to HCMC, eight of them in critical condition.

Mary Ellen Swanson, the ER charge nurse, made room for 50 patients in 20 minutes, set up triage, and coordinated communication with family members.

"We’re still briefing. The bridge has not gone away just because it was a year ago," Swanson said.

She and Dr. Steve Sterner took care of the most seriously injured.

"I’m convinced we would have the best disaster management response of anywhere in the country," Sterner said proudly.