CARLSBORG — Emergency responders were pulled through tight underground pipes. Disaster search dogs rappelled on ropes.
Such unusual exercises happened during disaster training Tuesday for Clallam County Fire District No. 3 emergency personnel.
The scenario: Western Washington has just experienced a major earthquake, buildings have collapsed and people are trapped in the rubble.
Fire District Public Information Officer Patrick Young said the drill was conducted in a moment’s notice at the district’s Training Grounds on Carlsborg Road near U.S. Highway 101, so there was little time to notify local media about it until after the fact. Young and the district, however, released close-up photos and video that covered highlights.
“The drill tested the different capabilities of the team,” Young said. “These capabilities included rescuing victims from building rubble, underground and elevated structures and other unusual locations. The teams also had the opportunity to use tools to breach concrete and steel and employed search techniques to find people using listening devices, cameras and the search dogs.”
Fire District No. 3 extensive Training Grounds adjacent to Greywolf Elementary School include a four-story tower, an underground pipe network, propane fire props and structures that simulate residential and commercial buildings.
The training ground was opened for operation in 2008 and provides unique training opportunities for both fire and rescue groups as well as law enforcement agencies.
The drill lasted eight hours and allowed all of the participants to experience each of the specialized scenarios, he said.
Fifty emergency responders and four disaster search dogs participated in the drill called Clallam Evergreen.
The drill was held in conjunction with Washington State’s Evergreen Quake Exercise designed to test the response capabilities of government and public safety agencies around the state.
Clallam drill participants included members of Federal Emergency Management Administration Region 2-Task Force 1’s Technical Rescue Team.
Team members work for different Clallam- and Kitsap-based public safety agencies that combine to provide services during disasters.
The team’s mission is to provide highly specialized technical rescue to communities during the first 48 to 72 hours of a disaster, Young said.
Northwest Disaster Search Dogs also sent four handlers and their K-9 partners to participate in the drill and were used to help find the “Victims” that volunteered to be trapped in the rubble.
