A terrorist’s plans were thwarted yesterday — or at least that’s how the scenario started during the Community Support Team training at Vidinha Stadium. The exercises, which involve a number of government agencies, started on Monday and will conclude Friday.
A terrorist’s plans were thwarted yesterday — or at least that’s how the scenario started during the Community Support Team training at Vidinha Stadium.
The exercises, which involve a number of government agencies, started on Monday and will conclude Friday.
“This is the biggest training exercise for us in the year,” Kaua‘i Fire Chief Robert Westerman said. “It’s good that our firefighters have a chance to practice for something like this. Most of the time they’re busy working.”
Westerman said that in previous CST exercises, Kaua‘i firefighters improved in their personal responses to situations because they saw someone else do something a little different.
He noted that at the last CST scenario, responders used an all-terrain vehicle, which prompted the department to order one. Its addition to the department’s has already proven successful, as it was used by water safety officers at the last state canoe races in Hanalei and is employed to patrol shoreline areas at Lydgate Park.
During yesterday’s training, sirens wailed through the stadium area as firefighters responded to a vehicle blaze. Upon arrival at the scene, officials discovered that the vehicle had been used by terrorists to transport supplies to Vidinha, where they were planning a mass killing during a football game.
Paul Deis, one of three CST trainers, explained that the terrorist group was planning on getting rid of the driver and truck by blowing it up.
But that didn’t happen, and firefighters noticed that the victims’ symptoms were not in line with a vehicle fire. Officials then called the CST unit.
“They can be here in a matter of hours,” Westerman said.
As the day wore on, the scenario turned more and more complex as CST responders also succumbed to symptoms, prompting the Department of Health into action as they interrogated victims in an effort to pinpoint the source of the illness.
“In about an hour, all the people in this area will start getting sick,” Deis told Col. Peter Ng of the Philippine Air Force, part of the foreign delegation of eight observers.
Later on, respirators started appearing on the faces of the emergency responders.
While responders went through their paces, paramedics from the American Medical Response stood by, ready to monitor vital signs for any of the county responders entering the “hot zone.”
“This scenario is supposed to be played out over several days,” Westerman said. “Everything is moving like clockwork.”
That included factoring a rain shower into the role-playing. The rain started to pour just as the CST members were showing signs of illness from the earlier explosion.
Officials had planned to test ground samples to figure out whether the truck had contained chemical or biological threats.
But the unforeseen rain washed everything away, and so Deis said the team had to react to the real-life weather, just as they would if the scenario were the real deal.
The Philippine Air Force, headed by Gen. Lucio Samaco, sent its delegation to this week’s training session to learn more about the program.
“They’re here to see what kind of equipment is involved, what kind of vehicles they need to get and how much it can pull,” Westerman said.
Ng said the Philippine government is planning to launch a similar program as early as November.
