Dozens of teams go to flooded camp exercise in Pulaski County
Almost 40 teams of fire, police, emergency medical service and search and rescue personnel participated in a flooded Boy Scout camp exercise in Pulaski County in August, according to Bob Marland, the public information officer for the event and a member of the Central Virginia All Hazards Incident Management Team.
The Pulaski Office of Emergency Management and other local, regional, state and federal agencies had planned the Aug. 12-14 exercise for over a year, said Lee Williams, acting chief of Incident Management Programs for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and Aaron Kesecker, VDEM state exercise program manager.
This was practice for a major emergency response, and this was the description of the simulated disaster that responders were given: “On Aug. 12, a severe thunderstorm struck the Max Creek drainage area of Pulaski County. The resulting flash flood caused extensive damage to the infrastructure at Camp Powhatan. The staff village area was wiped out, with approximately 15 people missing. A camp vehicle was returning up Max Creek Road at the time of the flood and was last known to be in the vicinity of the shale pits. Two to three people are missing, along with the vehicle. Additionally, hikers were caught in the storm while on the Sidewinder Trail. Part of the group returned, but two hikers are still missing. They are believed to be between camp and the Greenwood Trail.”
The exercise was titled the 2016 Max Creek SAREX (search and rescue exercise) because it included search and rescue operations for missing people, as well as recovery exercises in the lake. Members of the Pulaski County Fire, EMS, and Sheriff’s Departments, Bedford County Fire and Rescue, numerous Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Departments, Botetourt Fire and EMS Department, Central Virginia All Hazards Incident management Teams, Virginia National Guard and many search and rescue organizations sent team members to assist Pulaski County response efforts. In all, over 155 personnel were involved in this training exercise.
The live training exercise made it necessary for the responders to use all of their previous training to work through a simulated disaster that seemed real. Actors played the part of survivors that had to be rescued, and manikins (not mannequins) were pulled from the lake to represent drowning victims. A partly buried vehicle was used to portray a vehicle caught in a mudslide.
“Exercises like this allow outside agencies to respond to local disasters and test their abilities to interact with a diverse group of emergency responders to achieve a common goal of serving the citizens of the Commonwealth in any type of emergency situation,” Williams said. “This is the most realistic and intense training that an emergency services organization can receive.” VDEM’s Training, Education and Exercise Division played a major role in organizing this massive exercise.
Independent evaluators with extensive specialized training followed the response groups during the exercise and evaluated their performance. Afterwards, the evaluators met with the groups and provided valuable insight into how well they performed.
The following groups assisted throughout the exercise:
Applied Communications Products
Bedford County Fire & Rescue Special Operations Command
Black Diamond Search and Rescue
Central Virginia All Hazards IMT
Chesterfield Fire and Rescue
Christiansburg Fire Department
National Weather Service in Blacksburg
New Bern Volunteer Fire Department
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office IMT
Pulaski County Emergency Communications Center
Pulaski County Emergency Management
Pulaski County Fire Department
Pulaski County Special Operations
Pulaski County Administration
Pulaski County Board of Supervisors
Regional Emergency Medical Services, Inc.
Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group
Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team
Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association
Virginia Tech Office Emergency Management
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Western 14 District Task force
WSLS 10 – a Roanoke-based TV station
Wythe County Sheriff’s Office
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