County completes successful Hazmat exercise

WORLAND – Local agencies and infrastructure organizations completed a county-wide full-scale exercise last Saturday, to enact a hazardous materials event. The event was a success, with 18 local emergency management and business interests participating.

The Saturday exercise, paid for by a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grant, took place north of Worland from 9 a.m. until noon, in the vicinity of the town sewer lagoon property. In the planning stages for nine months through the Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC), the exercise tested local first responders in their ability to effectively communicate in the case of a large-scale hazardous materials emergency.

"The LEPC mission for the exercise was for protection and prevention measures to citizens and first responders in dealing with hazardous materials," said Washakie County Emergency Management Director Jeff Schweighart.

Beginning with a simulated 9-1-1 call at approximately 9:17 a.m., indicating a vehicle collision with a semi-tanker and an unknown hazardous material leak, the exercise unfolded when first responders arrived on-scene, and ended three hours later with a confirmation of patients received at the Washakie Medical Center Emergency Room.

The exercise was facilitated by High Focus LLC, of Eagle, Idaho, a government contractor that specializes in Federal Emergency Management Administration training and qualification for emergency management and first responders.

For their part, which included simulating a large-scale hazardous waste containment area with a mock exposure area of one mile, High Focus will receive $15,750 from the HMEP grant. Washakie County is one of only seven counties in Wyoming to receive the grant, totaling $20,625.

According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the HMEP grant program was established in 1990 by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act. The program is designed to allow grantees the flexibility to implement training and planning programs that address differing needs for each location based on demographics, emergency response capabilities, commodity flow studies, and hazard analysis. The HMEP grant award amount prior to 2009 was $12.8 million; award amounts thereafter were increased to $21.8 million. 

The field operation portion of the exercise included members of local law enforcement, fire district, HAZMAT response teams, Wyoming Department of Transportation, Burlington–Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the Red Cross, and evaluators from surrounding counties. Victims were played by Ten Sleep Ambulance Director Gard Ferguson and County Commission Chairman Terry Wolf.

As in a real emergency, a command center for operations was established at the Washakie County Fairgrounds.

The culmination of the exercise will provide responding agencies with After Action reports and evaluations for the Washakie County LEPC and emergency managers, with an included Improvement Plan to fix discrepancies.

"As proven with this exercise, it takes a concentrated effort by multiple team members and entities to make it successful. We are better prepared for a future incident, should it impact our jurisdiction, in the future," said Schweighart.