Disaster rescue drills were carried out Monday at several Greater Long Beach locations with the base camp set at the Long Beach Fire Training Center.
The timing of the drill was chosen in part because of the recent deployments of at least two California Urban Search and Rescue task forces to Haiti and a series of storms that are expected to batter the local region this week, said Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Hayes.
With the two teams called to Haiti, the local task force teams may have to provide mutual aid assistance to not only their own zones but to other areas of Southern California normally served by the teams sent to Haiti, Hayes explained.
The drill, which began early Monday, included two Urban Search and Rescue Regional Task Forces comprised of 29 team members.
Task Force 2 was made up of firefighters and rescue crew members from Vernon, Downey, Montebello, Santa Fe Springs and Compton while Task Force 3 is comprised of Long Beach Fire Department staff. In addition to the two teams, air support was provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
The drill included locations such as the Port of Long Beach, the Downey Studios, and the Long Beach Fire Training Center and simulated swift water rescue during stormy conditions.The two task force teams had a goal of a 45 minute assembly and response time in light of their purpose in bridging the gap between local first responders and the 12-hour minimum response time of the larger Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) task forces.
During the drill the teams has to carry out reconnaissance missions and search a number of affected areas, both on the ground and in the air. Once victims were located, they were evaluted, extricated (if necessary), and treated for their injuries.Teams also had to triage rescue efforts to determine which situations were most critical and would therefore be the first priority.
The search teams included specialists in the areas of technical, search, rescue, structural, K9 and medical fields.
More than 60 people participated in the day of drills and the event concluded with a critique and will be followed by a formal debriefing for the teams.
Fore more information the drills and photos check out the Long Beach Fire Department's News Website at http://firechannel.org/blog/?p=1981
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