Response team in action

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cheyenne Morigeau
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Multiple agencies from D-M came together to showcase the expertise and equipment available in the event of a real-world emergency involving hazardous materials here, Sept. 29, 2014.

The Multi-Agency Hazardous Material Exercise gave the agencies that participated an opportunity to see each other's capabilities while developing a harmonious working relationship.

"This training is to exercise the interoperability of the emergency responders," said Master Sgt. Brian Thompson, 355th Civil Engineering Squadron Fire and Emergency Services Flight assistant chief.

Fire Protection, Emergency Management, Bioenvironmental Engineering and Explosive Ordnance Disposal flights all participated in the exercise.

 "The exercise was a HAZMAT response exercise to a suspected dumping site of wasted industrial materials," said Staff Sgt. Kate Grady, 355th Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental engineering technician.

The exercise consisted of two 55 gallon drums and a 150 pound cylinder which all simulated the leakage of an unknown chemical.

"Each agency provides a specific skill set to the Desert Lightning Team Emergency Response Force," Thompson said. "That culminates in the command and control, product identification, decontamination, scene mitigation, and a multitude of other significant tasks."

The training occurs annually with numerous drills varying in complexity.

"The Department of Defense has adopted consensus standards that dictate the level of certification and training required for emergency personnel to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive events," Thompson said. "This training is vital in ensuring first responders work together and understand the skill sets and resources necessary to handle emergency situations."

Every exercise will bring a new learning experience to participating responders.

"Every time we hold these exercises, we learn something that we could improve on," Grady said. "Lately our biggest struggle is manning and turnovers. We rely on these exercises to ensure we can respond as a cohesive unit if a real-world response would be required."

These exercises help Airmen maintain their response proficiency.

"The best part of any exercise is meeting your objectives," Grady said. "In this case we are identifying the unknown chemicals and providing the health risk assessment to the incident commander."

Multi-agency exercises give members of each agency an opportunity to work outside of their everyday work environment.

"We love when we get the opportunity to work with other agencies," Grady said. "This type of joint training integrates our teams and grows confidence for when these types of scenarios happen in the real world."