Stafford’s Department of Fire and Rescue is hosting its first regional emergency response exercise on January 25-28, 2006, for fire and EMS responders. The training will take place at the Stafford Administration Center and at the Stafford Rescue Squad building located next to the Administration Center. More than 30 first responders from Stafford, Fairfax, Prince William and Spotsylvania counties are scheduled to attend the training. 

“Our goal is to provide high quality training to our first responders so that they can be ready to handle large scale incidents and protect the safety of Stafford’s citizens,” said Fire and Rescue Chief Rob Brown. “But we also wanted to offer the training to our neighboring localities because we provide mutual aid, and we must be prepared to assist in emergencies outside of Stafford. These drills will help all of us develop effective responses ahead of time.”  

The training will begin with class lectures on Wednesday, January 25 and Thursday, January 26, in the Board Chambers of the Administration Center. The classes will cover the Incident Command System, which is required training by FEMA for all first responders. At the end of the class, each participant will be certified in the Incident Command System, which seeks to ensure seamless command, coordination and communications among first responders to critical incidents. 

The tabletop exercises on Friday, January 27, and Saturday, January 28, will utilize several scenarios to test students including a multi-unit fire, building collapse, and a train wreck. Students will practice Incident Command System response with a simulator featuring numerous buildings and different layouts that include schools, stores, industrial facilities and special hazard displays. Fire and smoke simulations are used for fire situations. Emergency equipment is dispatched. Radios are used for realistic communication. Scale model apparatus, police cars, ambulances, emergency personnel, hose, and other props are also included in the training.

The classes and the drills will be conducted by Command School, Inc., from Lancaster, Pa., a private company experienced in command and incident readiness training. 

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