Tabletop drill tests local response to chemical spill scenario

Local emergency response to a mock chemical spill was tested on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the annual county exercise. This event brought together emergency responders from each sector, including fire departments, law enforcement, EMS, dispatch and healthcare providers. This exercise is hosted every year by the Pulaski County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The LEPC's role in the community is to develop and manage emergency response plans for chemical releases along with distributing information to the public. The LEPC forms partnerships with local governments and industries to enhance hazardous materials preparedness. The LEPC is required to host an exercise of some kind every year to test their emergency plans, identify any gaps in response and to meet state and federal legal and funding requirements. The planning committee for this year's exercise consisted of Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Richel Fox, LEPC Chairman Andrew Pesaresi, EMS Director Natasha Daugherty and LEPC Media Representative Megan Galbreath, who is the reporter and copy editor for the Pulaski County Journal. Contractor Ray Chambers set up and led the exercise. Last year, the LEPC hosted a full-scale, live exercise at Fratco in Francesville. This year, the LEPC hosted a tabletop exercise, which is discussion-based, giving everyone involved an inside look into all roles and the opportunity to discuss responses as a group. Agencies that participated in the exercise included Winamac and Francesville Volunteer Fire Departments, Pulaski County EMS, Pulaski County EMA, Pulaski County Dispatch, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and Pulaski Memorial Hospital. Pulaski County Commissioner Don Street was present as an observer. The exercise scenario that was presented was a overhead crane collapse at the fictional Pulaski Steel Company during a planned maintenance shutdown. The mock collapse occurred when a minimal crew was conducting repairs in the pickling section, which houses several acid storage tanks used in the dilution process. The area contains three storage tanks with different concentrations of sulfuric acid. The acid dilution system, which converts 98% sulfuric acid to a lower concentration, is not operating during the shutdown. 

Megan Galbreath is the author of this article and is a member of the LEPC and its planning committee for this tabletop exercise, contributing to the exercise’s development and implementation.