Camp San Luis Obispo: Large-scale disaster training

Friday, May 2, 2008

Camp San Luis Obispo: Large-scale disaster training

Large-scale disaster training at Camp San Luis Obispo

CAMP SAN LUIS OBISPO - Whether it's a natural disaster or terrorist attack, they train for the worst, but hope for the best.

About 250 emergency responders participated in a large-scale drill at Camp San Luis Obispo Thursday. They simulated a train derailment and a building collapse, all to push resources to the limit.

This drill between fire personnel and national guardsmen takes place about once a year. It's an exercise that takes months to plan, but one that emergency responders say is crucial in any kind of disaster.

Several hundred victims and a search for survivor in a building collapse and a train derailment with a possible gas leak. It's what you would call:

"The worst possible case scenario," said Cambria Fire Chief Bob Putney, also the Regional Supervisor for the San Luis Obispo Regional HazMat Team.

Fire personnel and national guardsmen teamed up to plan for a real life situation.

"Every mistake we make, everything we do right is a learning experience," Chief Putney added.

We suited up for a first-hand experience to see what emergency responders go through.

All emergency responders have to wear hazmat suits. When fully suited up, it can get up to 25 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. Now, add almost 80 pounds of equipment they will have to wear, and it becomes difficult to move.

Difficult, but necessary.

"Practice does make perfect. We've got to be able to come together, no matter what the incident is and make it happen," said Cal Fire spokeswoman Tina Rose.

With possible dangerous chemicals floating in the air, hazmat teams decontaminate not only themselves, but also the victims.

"It could be a train derailment, it could be a building collapse. Right now, we have a series of earthquakes we've been tracking," said Lieutentant Colonel Thor Iljana with the National Guard's CERFP unit. "Really, if you don't prepare beforehand, once the event occurs, it's too late to get ready."

A training that one day could save your life.

The National Guard says the exercise costs about $20,000 of federal money.

Source article: KSBY Story link
Tags: National Guard's CERFP unit, San Luis Obispo Regional HazMat Team, Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) - Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP)

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Friday, May 2, 2008