Tunnel Disaster Exercise Focuses On Responder Training and Adaptability

In June 2005, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) New York Task Force I (NY-TF1) was deployed to The Center for National Response (CNR) for training. This was the first time I was deployed as a technical search specialist. On previous deployments, I had been assigned as a rescue squad member or an officer. The CNR is in West Virginia, 30 miles south of Charleston, and has support facilities nearby. The Memorial Tunnel, a 2,800-foot-long former highway tunnel built in 1953, was an active part of the West Virginia Turnpike until 1987.

At approximately 2 a.m. on June 20, task force (TF) members began to arrive at the assembly point (AP), the site of the FEMA cache. Earlier, our new activation system had been tested; all members’ home and cell phones were called. As part of standard operating procedures, our families would be notified of our safe arrival in West Virginia. At the cache, we were issued final personal gear, including radios and uniform items specific to our positions. We were given physicals (which were to continue daily throughout our deployment), turned in our car keys, were fed (the Red Cross was on-scene), and received briefings from the TF leaders.

我被分配给蓝色团队；因此，该报告代表了该团队的观点。我们分手了团队，将装备装载到卡车上，并在纽约的肯尼迪机场登上了公共汽车。我们于上午5:45到达肯尼迪，登记入住，然后登上飞往查尔斯顿的航班。在飞行过程中，团队成员讨论了操作，在计算机上工作，阅读FEMA操作指南（FOG）或睡觉。我与全球定位系统（GPS）和笔记本电脑合作，将西弗吉尼亚州的详细地图下载到GPS上并完成其他任务。空姐为搜索犬拍照，这些狗总是很受欢迎。到达西弗吉尼亚州后，我们继续前进的最后一站，再次在车队中，在途中吃午餐。