Garrett County Emergency Management announces the completion of the two-day Western Maryland Multi-Agency Exercise conducted at the former ASCI building on Adventure Sports Way.
Day Two focused on integrating local public-safety personnel with members of the Maryland National Guard’s 32nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Participants worked through specialized hazard assessment, investigative coordination, evidence preservation and collection, information sharing, and the transition from emergency response to a coordinated state and federal investigation.
The second-day operations built upon the response conducted on Day One, which began with a simulated 911 call and expanded to include law enforcement, fire, EMS, HazMat, mutual-aid resources, Garrett Regional Medical Center, and the 32nd WMD Civil Support Team.
“This exercise gave our local responders the opportunity to manage a complex incident from the initial 911 call through the integration of regional, state, and federal resources,” said Justin Orendorf, Director of Garrett County Emergency Management. “The relationships and coordination practiced during this exercise are critical to an effective response when an actual emergency occurs.”
The exercise evaluated incident command, responder safety, communications, accountability, hazardous-materials operations, patient care and hospital coordination, resource requests, investigative transition, and multi-agency interoperability.
All activities were part of a planned and controlled exercise, and there was no threat to the community.
Garrett County Emergency Management thanks the participating law-enforcement agencies, fire and EMS departments, HazMat teams, Garrett County 911 personnel, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Allegany County partners, the Maryland National Guard’s 32nd WMD Civil Support Team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, exercise staff, evaluators, role players, volunteers, and everyone who helped make the exercise possible.
