Photo By Pfc. Danielle Sargent | A car is crushed by cement in a pile of rubble during a training exercise for Vigilant...... read more read more
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PHOENIX—Sawing and banging are heard as firefighters build supports for a collapsed building. Several of them squeeze through a small opening and crawl into the dark, moving rubble out of their way as they go.
The men appear weary as they muscle, maneuver and extract the weighty chunks of cement. They do this in order to access victims that were buried, before it is too late to save them.
What could have caused such a scene?
More than 250 agencies and 8,000 personnel, including National Guard units from eight states, came together here Nov. 3-6 for Vigilant Guard, an exercise to train, test and evaluate the preparedness of state and federal agencies in the event of an emergency.
The Vigilant Guard scenario comprises simulated flooding that is followed by the largest simulated improvised nuclear device detonation in the United States’ history. It encompasses eight venues spread across the Phoenix metropolitan area.
“Vigilant Guard is an exercise that we are participating in with more than 8,000 participants that are utilizing various incident management systems and all coming together to respond to a catastrophic event,” said Mike Reichling, public information officer for the Tempe Fire Department. “The time to build relationships isn’t at 2:00 in the morning, the time is now.”
One such venue is a pile of rubble with a simulated collapsed office building constructed out of tractor-trailer size storage containers, with life sized mannequins buried within, as well as live actors painted with movie makeup to resemble the bloody and wounded.
Firefighters and the National Guard began working at the rubble pile at approximately 2 p.m. Thursday after the simulated improvised nuclear device detonation.
“Initially, first responders arrive to an event like this metering for radiation so they can save victims from a safe distance,” said Frank Salomon, deputy chief of public affairs for the Phoenix Fire Department. “After the incident is determined to be much greater than first responders’ abilities, such as the scenario here, everything grows and they reach out to other agencies such as the National Guard.”
Both agencies have the opportunity to work together in a realistic training environment where their interoperability and communications are put to the test.
“What we’ve done is enable the National Guard to enhance their skill set,” said Bobby Lax, deputy general manager of Response International Group and the man who was in charge of constructing the rubble pile. “This will familiarize everyone in case a real event was to take place.”
The rubble pile took approximately two and a half weeks to construct and has many challenges built into it for responders to overcome. Lifelike mannequins are buried under massive amounts of rubble and under desks and other obstacles inside the collapsed office building.
“The fire fighters can’t just rush into the situation or someone could get hurt,” Reichling said. “They have to plan the best way in to get to victims that are buried and extract them carefully. There is a lot more than just manpower that is needed.”
Soon after the improvised detonation, the California National Guard’s 149th Chemical Company arrived in nearly a dozen trucks with trailers attached, filled with the equipment needed to decontaminate role-play victims and mannequins.
The Arizona National Guard’s 91st Civil Support Team also arrived on the scene. The CST identifies hazards in the area associated with weapons of mass destruction such as radiation levels.
“We are probably the most highly trained unit in the Arizona National Guard and we are always prepared if an event like this were to happen, but when you get to this level of play with 8,000 people involved we’re still going to learn a ton,” said Army Capt. Brian Dudley, a survey team leader with the 91st CST.
After the role-play victims go through the military decontamination tents at the rubble pile, they are driven by ambulance or flown by helicopter to hospitals where they will receive treatment for their injuries, a wide range of burns and other injuries.
We will learn to share knowledge and learn about the capabilities of all the agencies and the equipment they use, said Salomon.
if a tragedy like this were to happen, training such as Vigilant Guard would help prepare thousands of individuals to take on the roles and responsibilities in which they are likely to find themselves.
“I took an oath and my family knows if my phone rings in the middle of the night I’ve got to go and do my part,” Dudley said.
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2011 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 79619 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 407 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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