Representatives from close to 100 local, state and federal agencies came together Wednesday to test their preparedness for events that will hopefully never occur — terrorist-spawned disasters.
Emergency response officials from nine area counties gathered at Lake Barkley State Park Wednesday in a joint training exercise facilitated by the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security.
The training this time was a tabletop exercise, designed to assess regional emergency agencies’ capabilities to deal with a terrorist incident in the region — in this case, the Area 2 region of Kentucky Emergency Management.
Locally, administrators of Princeton Fire/Rescue, Caldwell County EMS, Caldwell County Emergency Management, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office took part, as did members of the Pennyrile District Health Department.
That Caldwell County presence would be necessary as the mock disaster unfolded, and the agencies involved attempted to work together to address it and minimize the body count.
“Relationship building between teams is a big emphasis,” said Sabine Gumm, master exercise practitioner and exercise coordinator with the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (KOHS). “It makes it much easier when something does happen.”
This is the first year in a three-year area agency training program for the KOHS, she said. By the end of the fiscal year in June, seven such tabletop exercises will be held throughout the state, she said.
In such an exercise, players receive information about the mock disaster that occurs and discuss concerns and possible solutions to the problem, without the stress of going through the disaster itself.
Solutions to the disaster, though, can be difficult and open-ended.
“There is no school solution,” said Gumm.
In Wednesday’s case, the disaster was particularly tricky — a bridge collapse and train derailment on the railroad bridge over the Tradewater River near Claxton at the Caldwell/Hopkins County line.
The train was carrying various tanks of chlorine gas, sodium hydroxide, benzene and hydrochloric acid, and several freight tankers fell into the river after the explosion.
A second explosion soon after collapsed a tunnel on the Caldwell County side.
The only access to the site is by four-wheeler or on foot.
After the derailment, a greenish-yellow cloud begins to emerge near the site of the second explosion.
The chemical cloud warranted the response of the region’s HazMat 2 team, chaired by Princeton Fire and Rescue Chief Brent Francis.
The chief led emergency responders in their discussion of how to respond to the disaster, after its nature was revealed Wednesday afternoon.
“I think everybody worked together real well,” Francis said Friday. “It makes you think about those ‘what ifs.’”
According to the written exercise, the toxic chemical cloud billowing from the wreckage was being pushed by wind toward Dawson Springs.
Since the chemicals in the cloud are heavier than air, the cloud stayed close to the ground, posing serious risks to the community’s residents.
“If that actually did happen,” Francis said, “the people in Dawson’s best chance was to take off right then.”
In Wednesday’s training, some of the 156 personnel who attended debated the value of evacuating residents over sheltering in place in their homes.
Evacuation is the best answer, Francis said; and that does not mean, he added, evacuating when sirens go off or emergency crews give the orders.
If residents in the exercise waited that long, some would not survive, he said.
The exercise estimate listed 10 dead, but workers in the training chalked that figure somewhat higher.
The key, Francis said, is being alert and prepared for such disasters, especially with the increased possibility of terrorist attacks after 9/11.
Before 9/11, he said, the area’s chief worry was such situations happening by accident. Now, though, the possibility exists that they may have occurred on purpose.
In either case, he added, when an explosion, derailment, plane or vehicle crash occurs nearby, the best plan is to get as far away from the scene as possible, upwind, to reduce the risk of exposure to such toxic chemicals.
The Hazmat-2 team and the KOHS, among other agencies, are working on initiatives to educate the public about the proper procedures to follow during and after such events.
Following orders from emergency officials in incidents like the train derailment is essential, he said.
“If people disobey those orders, there’s a good chance they’re going to be killed,” he said. “It’s going to be hard enough to have a successful outcome with all of the state, local and federal agencies working together.”
Many parents flock to area school buildings to get their children in such situations, often ignoring contrary emergency orders.
That attitude should be avoided, the chief said. “Trust the school system to take care of your children.”
The public should also be vigilant to suspicious activities to possibly prevent such attacks before they occur.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” Francis said. “Pay attention to what’s going on around you, and have a plan.”
The state plans more training exercises in the region, including functional and full-scale exercises, when such emergencies are realistically simulated, in the next two years.
