Full-scale Haz-Mat exercise trains first responders on chemical emergencies
The full-scale Haz-Mat exercise at George’s on November 2. Butterfield Fire Chief Donald Privett took command of the scene when his department was the first to arrive on scene at the training event.
November 13, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Every three years, the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) of Barry and Lawrence Counties undertake a full-scale Haz-Mat exercise to test the abilities of their emergency crews and identify potential issues that could occur during a real emergency. LEPC's are in place to help prepare and train first responders in the event of a local chemical emergency.
On Saturday, November 2, those committees came together just outside of Butterfield to once again train and prepare first responders for the possibility of a real chemical emergency.
“We invite responders from both counties, and it gives us an opportunity to practice our responses,” said David Compton, director of Emergency Management for Barry County. “We can also share the cost of the operation that way.”
The exercise took place at the George’s chicken processing facility, just outside of Butterfield on Highway 37. The operation was completed with full cooperation from George’s, who allowed emergency workers and volunteers near-full use of the factory as a staging ground for the operation.
“One of our primary responsibilities is to create and manage the hazardous materials response plan for each county,” explained Compton. “It’s during a full-scale exercise that we really test our abilities as a county to respond to these emergencies with. Whether it’s a Haz-Mat event, a tornado or anything like that, it’s good to know what that would look like for us.”
For this exercise, at approximately 8:15 a.m., a call was placed to 911 from the George’s parking lot. The reporter staged the call to complain of breathing trouble and possible injury. Soon after, multiple other calls like the first also took place, followed by a call from the factory, stating that they suspected a major chemical leak.
Volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were placed throughout the facility and parking lot, each equipped with an injury card that detailed how to act and what to say to the responders who treated them.
Within minutes, dispatch sent out a wide-range of calls to various departments throughout the surrounding areas.
“During the exercise, there’s a heavy emphasis on command and control,” said Compton. “This exercise also had an element of public warning. How do we warn the public and keep them in their homes during something like this?”
According to Compton, the duties of commanding and controlling the situation fall on whoever is in command of the first unit to respond on the scene. For this exercise, that unit was Butterfield Fire Department and that commander was fire chief Donald Privett.
“Instant command was taken very early on, and that is a big issue in these kind of events, because you have to make sure that you have a structure to keep everything moving,” explained Compton. “Donnie Privett assumed the command role. Butterfield was the first on the scene and he did a very good job.”
Compton went on to compliment chief Privett’s ability to take control of the situation, delegate authority and organizing responders.
“That contributed largely to the success of the overall exercise,” continued Compton. “Because of that, we were able to get done earlier than we thought.”
After Butterfield Fire arrived on the scene, Privett took control of the situation, sending responders out to "victims" to provide aid and get a good sense of the situation.
A command line was established in the George’s parking lot at a safe distance to ensure that responders and victims were out of harm’s way during the operation. Soon after, Butterfield Fire was joined by responders from Cassville, Purdy and Monett Fire Departments, Cassville, Purdy and Monett Police Departments, Mercy Hospital Ambulance teams and Barry-Lawrence ambulance teams, as well as many others.
Around this same time, actors showed up at Mercy Hospital’s Cassville and Aurora locations, as well as Cox Monett, to simulate a Haz-Mat-related patient influx at the local hospitals. According to Compton, all hospitals in the operation performed well under the circumstances.
Compton went on to explain that after the first ambulance arrived on the scene and realized that the incident included more than five victims, the team called in a Mass Casualty Incident, prompting a larger response from the surrounding departments. In total, four ambulances, two emergency medical supervisors and one life-flight helicopter responded to the scene.
By 9:30 a.m., the Haz-Mat team from Monett’s Fire Department arrived on the scene and reported to Privett. According to Compton, this team, along with the Haz-Mat specialists employed at George’s, were able to enter the factory by 9:45 a.m.
From there, both teams entered with the primary objective of rescuing as many victims as possible before attempting to contain the leak. Compton stated that all volunteers that were meant to survive the operation did, with the operation’s only casualties being the ones slated to be as such.
The “leak” was contained by both Haz-Mat teams shortly thereafter with the operation officially coming to a close at 10:45 a.m., roughly an hour and 15 minutes sooner than what was projected.
While most of the data from the operation is still being compiled, Compton was very impressed by the performance of all local departments. “This is when we try and do our best to challenge our response community enough to identify the places that we can improve,” said Compton.
So far, two key areas that Barry County’s response teams were lacking in have been identified.
“We identified some opportunities for communication,” explained Compton. “We definitely identified how we could do that better. We didn’t find any issues with getting the message across, but we did find ways that we could do it more efficiently.”
According to Compton, one of the main takeaways from the operation was the need for an on-scene communication system that could patch responders on different radio-frequencies through the use of a cross-band repeater.
Compton explained that efforts to put together a version of this equipment is currently being built within the county, to be used as a county asset.
Another need identified by the operation was that of a mass communication system that could warn the public in the surrounding areas about the situation. Compton stated that work has begun on a mass communication system that will be able to send SMS messages to the cellphones of people signed up for the service about local emergency situations.
According to Compton, this service should be live within the next year.
Vinnie Roberts
Every three years, the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) of Barry and Lawrence Counties undertake a full-scale Haz-Mat exercise to test the abilities of their emergency crews and identify potential issues that could occur during a real emergency. LEPC's are in place to help prepare and train first responders in the event of a local chemical emergency.
On Saturday, November 2, those committees came together just outside of Butterfield to once again train and prepare first responders for the possibility of a real chemical emergency.
“We invite responders from both counties, and it gives us an opportunity to practice our responses,” said David Compton, director of Emergency Management for Barry County. “We can also share the cost of the operation that way.”
The exercise took place at the George’s chicken processing facility, just outside of Butterfield on Highway 37. The operation was completed with full cooperation from George’s, who allowed emergency workers and volunteers near-full use of the factory as a staging ground for the operation.
“One of our primary responsibilities is to create and manage the hazardous materials response plan for each county,” explained Compton. “It’s during a full-scale exercise that we really test our abilities as a county to respond to these emergencies with. Whether it’s a Haz-Mat event, a tornado or anything like that, it’s good to know what that would look like for us.”
For this exercise, at approximately 8:15 a.m., a call was placed to 911 from the George’s parking lot. The reporter staged the call to complain of breathing trouble and possible injury. Soon after, multiple other calls like the first also took place, followed by a call from the factory, stating that they suspected a major chemical leak.
Volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were placed throughout the facility and parking lot, each equipped with an injury card that detailed how to act and what to say to the responders who treated them.
Within minutes, dispatch sent out a wide-range of calls to various departments throughout the surrounding areas.
“During the exercise, there’s a heavy emphasis on command and control,” said Compton. “This exercise also had an element of public warning. How do we warn the public and keep them in their homes during something like this?”
According to Compton, the duties of commanding and controlling the situation fall on whoever is in command of the first unit to respond on the scene. For this exercise, that unit was Butterfield Fire Department and that commander was fire chief Donald Privett.
“Instant command was taken very early on, and that is a big issue in these kind of events, because you have to make sure that you have a structure to keep everything moving,” explained Compton. “Donnie Privett assumed the command role. Butterfield was the first on the scene and he did a very good job.”
Compton went on to compliment chief Privett’s ability to take control of the situation, delegate authority and organizing responders.
“That contributed largely to the success of the overall exercise,” continued Compton. “Because of that, we were able to get done earlier than we thought.”
After Butterfield Fire arrived on the scene, Privett took control of the situation, sending responders out to "victims" to provide aid and get a good sense of the situation.
A command line was established in the George’s parking lot at a safe distance to ensure that responders and victims were out of harm’s way during the operation. Soon after, Butterfield Fire was joined by responders from Cassville, Purdy and Monett Fire Departments, Cassville, Purdy and Monett Police Departments, Mercy Hospital Ambulance teams and Barry-Lawrence ambulance teams, as well as many others.
Around this same time, actors showed up at Mercy Hospital’s Cassville and Aurora locations, as well as Cox Monett, to simulate a Haz-Mat-related patient influx at the local hospitals. According to Compton, all hospitals in the operation performed well under the circumstances.
Compton went on to explain that after the first ambulance arrived on the scene and realized that the incident included more than five victims, the team called in a Mass Casualty Incident, prompting a larger response from the surrounding departments. In total, four ambulances, two emergency medical supervisors and one life-flight helicopter responded to the scene.
By 9:30 a.m., the Haz-Mat team from Monett’s Fire Department arrived on the scene and reported to Privett. According to Compton, this team, along with the Haz-Mat specialists employed at George’s, were able to enter the factory by 9:45 a.m.
From there, both teams entered with the primary objective of rescuing as many victims as possible before attempting to contain the leak. Compton stated that all volunteers that were meant to survive the operation did, with the operation’s only casualties being the ones slated to be as such.
The “leak” was contained by both Haz-Mat teams shortly thereafter with the operation officially coming to a close at 10:45 a.m., roughly an hour and 15 minutes sooner than what was projected.
While most of the data from the operation is still being compiled, Compton was very impressed by the performance of all local departments. “This is when we try and do our best to challenge our response community enough to identify the places that we can improve,” said Compton.
So far, two key areas that Barry County’s response teams were lacking in have been identified.
“We identified some opportunities for communication,” explained Compton. “We definitely identified how we could do that better. We didn’t find any issues with getting the message across, but we did find ways that we could do it more efficiently.”
According to Compton, one of the main takeaways from the operation was the need for an on-scene communication system that could patch responders on different radio-frequencies through the use of a cross-band repeater.
Compton explained that efforts to put together a version of this equipment is currently being built within the county, to be used as a county asset.
Another need identified by the operation was that of a mass communication system that could warn the public in the surrounding areas about the situation. Compton stated that work has begun on a mass communication system that will be able to send SMS messages to the cellphones of people signed up for the service about local emergency situations.
According to Compton, this service should be live within the next year.