First responders to hold disaster drill next month
That’s the day first-responders from across Central Texas converge on Burnet County as part of this year’s Capitol Area Council of Governments CBERNE exercise.
CBERNE stands for Chemical, Biological, Explosive, Radiological and Nuclear. Several local governments have joined forces to fund four CBERNE teams, which are dispatched across Central Texas during disasters.
“When the local agencies are faced with something beyond their resources, it’s our job to respond,” CBERNE Division Chief David Bailey said. “This exercise lets me train my teams to see if they’re prepared to handle situations like this.”
Burnet County was chosen as the site of the drill earlier this year, and local officials have joined CAPCOG planners for more than six weeks of preparation.
Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger said the exercise is a good opportunity for local first responders to get to know their counterparts from around Central Texas while training for a larger-than-usual disaster.
“Realistic practice drills such as this are beneficial to the community because it allows local and regional first-responders as well as community leaders to practice skills that are crucial in the event of a real emergency,” Klaeger said.
The Nov. 7 exercise begins at 7 a.m. and takes place at locations around Granite Shoals and Cottonwood Shores. Bailey said the scenario will include hazardous-material clean-up, an explosion and a simulated radiation attack.
Klaeger said residents are urged not to try and watch the drill in person for safety reasons.
“Attempting to watch the drill is inadviseable, as bystanders could endanger themselves or impede emergency vehicle access during the training exercise,” she said.
The four-part event will involve all four CBERNE teams as they work with local agencies to respond to the simulations, Burnet Emergency Operations Manager Jim Barho said.
Barho said local participating agencies will still have crews on-call to handle real-life emergencies, adding the exercise can be suspended at any time.
“Public safety is our highest priority,” he said.
Marble Falls Area EMS Inc. planner Scott Parker said the exercise demonstrates to local agencies how they’ll need to respond in a real-world situation.
“There is no single agency that can handle a large-scale event,” he said. “At the end of the day, we rely on each other.”
Barho said the exercise will be concluded by 5 p.m., adding local officials will conduct an after-action review a week later.
“This is not a drill to see if our guys can fail,” he said. “The issue here is to see how well we are prepared and to improve our capabilities.”
chris@thepicayune.com