Published: October 29, 2009 08:55 am      

This is only a test

Community prepared for emergency

A mock emergency scenario Wednesday was first reported to be an isolated incident at the Blue Grass Army Depot, but about one hour later, a large portion of the community was at risk.

The annual community emergency exercise hosted by the Madison County Emergency Management Association (EMA) and CSEPP (Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program) began Wednesday at 8:39 a.m. when the initial call came to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) from depot representatives who reported an incident that occurred inside a chemical weapon storage igloo.

At 9:16 a.m., another call from the depot came to the EOC reporting that the incident had escalated and could be a threat to nearby community residents.

“It was a very good test of the (emergency response) system and our ability to respond when things aren’t perfect,” said Carl Richards, director of the Madison County EMA.

In past exercises, a mock chemical spill at the depot produces a plume of deadly agent vapors that shifts according to wind patterns.

Madison County is divided up into different emergency response zones so that people who live in the potentially affected areas know how to respond.

Each zone has a relocation destination, but because of Wednesday’s change in wind pattern, it would not have been safe for residents simply to rely on knowing in which zone they reside, said Kelley McBride, spokesperson for EMA/CSEPP.

During the exercise, those living in the affected areas were told where to relocate, which was a different location from the current emergency response zone plan.

The unexpected travel direction of the plume caused EMA/CSEPP representatives to inform residents in those areas to relocate to the Garrard County and Powell County high schools, Richards said.

“People really need to pay attention when we tell them all the actions we have for people to follow,” McBride said. “Just because you know your (emergency response) zone, that doesn’t automatically determine where you are to locate because there could be a shift in the wind.”

About 24 federal exercise evaluators visited Madison County to observe Wednesday’s mock disaster drill.

An evaluation report about the county’s performance during the mock disaster will be available Monday, Richards said.

“I think it was a good performance and something to be proud of,” he said. “It was a larger plume than normal, which made it more challenging and more interesting.”

Richards said he was pleased with the amount of cooperation shown between the county’s emergency response personnel and government leaders from Richmond, Berea and Madison County.

There was a good representation of local entities that helped at the EOC throughout the day-long exercise, he said.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.