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On November 24, 2003, Napa Valley College
hosted a multi-discipline public safety training simulation that required
a coordinated response by police, fire, and emergency services personnel
in Napa County. The exercise was developed by our lead HAZMAT
instructor, Lt. John Robertson of the Napa County Sheriff's
Department. The goal was to prepare first responders for an act of
terrorism involving a hazardous material. The exercise including
pairing up police academy cadets with professionals for a truly hands-on
learning experience. This type of training is now being conducted
all over California, but is the first to directly include police academy
students. |
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The scenario unfolded like this...
College police responded to the report of a suspicious person near a train
on the west side of the campus. When college police officer Brookes
arrived, she reported seeing a man wearing a gas mask standing next to a
train. She called for back-up from Napa Police and the Napa
Valley Railroad Police.
Recognizing that the railroad tank car was
carrying a very lethal chemical, the officers on the scene called for
additional help from Napa County Fire and the Napa County Hazardous
Materials Response Team. |
| They also called for help from the Napa
Police and Napa Sheriff's SWAT Team because this incident involved a
possible act of terrorism.
As the simulation continued, it was played
out as realistically as possible. The campus police dispatcher
relayed information to city and county authorities and to other campus
entities. Effective team work was present from the beginning.
You can see police academy students walking with members of the SWAT teams
as they approach the incident. |
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| What the SWAT team officers and academy
cadets were looking for was a secondary device or "booby
trap." ...And they found one. The simulation was designed
to include a response by Napa County Sheriff Bomb Squad personnel.
The details of this event were carefully crafted to include as much
realism for what could happen as possible. Officers dressed in
protective clothing and special gas masks as they would for a real event.
All of the equipment you see in these
pictures is real. Of course, as in any simulation, all of the
weapons are rendered safe before the exercise begins. |
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| The personnel seen in the orange and blue
suits are specially trained to respond to incidents involving hazardous
materials and biological weapons. You can see the SWAT teams and our
academy cadets make an approach to a suspect in order to safely make an
arrest. What they didn't know was that a second suspect was hiding
ready to detonate a simulated chemical bomb.
To be successful, these officers had to
communicate effectively and move carefully together as a team. Many
of the SWAT team members seen here are graduates of Napa's basic police
academy. |
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It's been a little over two hours since the
campus police officer reported what she had seen. The first suspect
was arrested and the SWAT Team is moving in to check the rest of the
area.
Suddenly, a second suspect emerged and a
simulated bomb exploded. Officers continued with their mission and,
as seen below, located the second suspect and took him into custody. |
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Once the second suspect was
located and removed from the scene, the SWAT teams continued their
search. The Hazardous Materials Response Team inspected the railroad
tank car to insure that no additional chemicals posed a threat.
For most of these officers, this was the
first time they had a chance to search a train. Railroads transport
hazardous materials in huge tank cars with loads in excess of 8000 gallons
every day all over the country.
But the job wasn't finished after all of
the suspects were located. Because this simulation involved exposure
to hazardous materials, all of the responding personnel had to go through
a simulated decontamination procedure. The specialized tent you see
below is what would actually be used in a real event. It's a time
consuming process, but essential to avoid injury or death from a real
exposure.
Almost all of the equipment you see in
these pictures was funded by Federal Homeland Security grants. This
money is intended to prepare first responders from local agencies with
training and equipment should an act of terrorism occur in our region. |
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A command post was established early on in
the exercise in a "safe" location away from the incident.
Commanders from all involved agencies coordinated response to the incident
utilizing the Incident Command System with a unified command
structure.
After the simulation was concluded, a group
of evaluators provided a debriefing of the event. Over 100 emergency
responders participated in what was declared a highly successful
exercise. All of the exercise objectives were achieved and our
police academy cadets left with an experience they won't soon forget. |
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