Oregon National Guard takes part in two chemical emergency training exercises
The Oregon National Guard's 102nd CBRN Defense Enhanced Response Force Package recently participated in two regional training exercises focused on chemical leaks to boost preparedness and teamwork among federal and local agencies during mass-casualty emergencies.
According to an article published by the US National Guard, the first exercise took place on 26 February, when the 102nd Civil Support Team responded after the Clackamas Fire Department reported a forklift accident involving a tank of anhydrous ammonia.
The second exercise took place on 4 March when the CBRN Defense Enhanced Response Force Package team members assisted with decontamination procedures at Portland Providence Medical Center after a tanker truck accident spilled 7,000 gallons of concentrated sulphuric acid onto Interstate 84.
"It was important to collaborate with other agencies regarding plume monitoring and to allow all our agencies to work together on a designated air monitoring exercise," said Lynsey Amundson, the public information officer for the Clackamas Fire Department.
One of the challenges was maintaining communication across multiple agencies, both on the ground and via radio channels, which Amundson said that this exercise quickly highlighted.
CBRN air monitors
"Demonstrating the importance of the air monitors in this exercise for the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Guard team was essential for validating how their findings aligned, as they were using real-world data," said Morgan West, community resilience officer for the Clackamas Fire Department.
"The monitors were collecting ‘zeroes’ while taking air samples every few seconds in real-time during the training period, and having this information up to date allows the incident commander to make critical decisions."
As the firefighters responded to the leak, Clackamas Fire Department also launched an aerial drone over the site to monitor the response during the exercise. Meanwhile, Oregon Guardsmen arrived and started setting up their rapid-deploy decontamination stations.
