Handbook of exercises for transportation sector personnel

Exercise Overview

A committee of MMTF and ACE Train staff met starting in September 2004 to develop a joint exercise that would inform first responders along the track regarding rail safety, rail equipment, and IED management. The Facilitated Exercise format is the standard training model used by San Jose MMTF since 2000, and was preferred by the committee. Experience with previous full scale exercises resulted in a group decision to emphasize quality training and hands on practice to ensure participant capability after the exercise.

Two hundred ninety (290) participants from law, fire, emergency services, emergency medical service agencies and volunteers participated in one of the nine exercise cycles. The scenario of a train derailment from an unknown cause provided the “tapestry” for the activities, creating an environment within which to solve the first responder field level problems presented at each learning station.

Participants included law, fire, emergency services and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from Alameda County and Santa Clara County and their cities. The ACE UASI paid for overtime for first responder attendees along their tracks and their mutual aid partners, and the San Jose MMTF paid for the exercise development and instructional expenses. Mannequins and 39 IEDs were used to heighten the reality of the scenario, which was held at the Union Pacific Rail Yard in San Jose. Train cars and locomotives were provided by ACE and CalTrain. Instructors were provided by those organizations, Amtrak Police Department, San Jose Fire, San Jose Police, and Santa Clara County Health and Hospital System.

The IEDs were created by the Chief Facilitator to reinforce for the participants the variety and simplicity of the objects that could be used to create hazards for first responders. Simple backpacks of explosives through homemade Claymore mines and sophisticated derailing charges challenged the participants’ observation skills. Students were encouraged to share information with each other as they discovered the IEDs to reinforce the need for constant vigilance and communication at the scene of an event with an unknown etiology.

In preparation for the Facilitated Exercise, a tabletop exercise was held in September 2005 emphasizing dispatching and communications issues at a rail accident in an isolated location. The tabletop covered two accident scenarios, and enabled the exercise staff to validate some of the handout materials in advance of the facilitated exercise. One outcome of the tabletop was a list of additional resources that are needed to ensure the ability of rail and first responder personnel to communicate effectively at the scene of a multiple casualty event.

On the second day of the exercise Mayor Ron Gonzales invited the media to meet him for a tour of the exercise grounds, and a review of the goals at each station. Members of the media were able to film the stations and review the important lessons with each set of facilitators. Coverage of the exercise began at 5:15 am with a live shot from the rail yard, and continued through the noon news segments in the Bay Area.

The lessons learned from the exercise reinforced the focus of the exercise. First responder safety in an accident environment of unknown origin challenges the knowledge of each participant. Working on the railroad is a unique experience for most first responders, yet after Madrid and London it is clear that rail must be viewed as a potential terrorist target, as well as a potential accident site. The four learning stations provided opportunities for participants to receive written and verbal information that will ensure their safety, and assist with a rapid response to victim needs.

As a result of the success of previous Facilitated Exercises, San Jose MMTF created a training DVD that can be shared with personnel unable to attend the exercise, so that they can also benefit from the information. The video will be sent to all participating agencies, along with sets of handout materials, to encourage other companies and units to learn about IEDs and operations on the railroad.

Exercise Goals and Objectives

1. 
   Ensure that first responders have the knowledge of the railroad and railroad operations to ensure their safety when they respond to an event on the railroad.
   

81.Ensure that first responders are aware of the hazardous materials that are carried on the railroad, and their potential for impacts at the site of an accidental or intentional multiple casualty event.

82.Ensure that first responders have an awareness of the types of passenger rail equipment that are in use in the Bay Area, and know about their dangerous components, and how to operate safely around them.

83.Ensure that first responders are able to safely access rail cars in a damaged condition, derailed, or on their sides.

84.Ensure that first responders can anticipate the types of injuries passengers may receive in an accident, and know how to manage those patients in the austere conditions of the more isolated portions of the Bay Area rail lines. Examples used were Niles Canyon and the mud flats in Alviso.