Emergency responders from the Reedy Creek Fire Department rushed to the scene of a chemical spill on Disney properties early Tuesday morning to avert what could have been a major crisis—if it hadn’t been all part of an elaborate emergency response scenario set up by the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals’ (AHMP) for their 26th national conference in Orlando.
Emergency responders never quite know what they may find when they arrive at the scene of an incident, but being prepared for anything and knowing the best practices for any event can significantly lower risk of injury when an incident occurs. This year’s emergency response scenario gave AHMP attendees the opportunity to share knowledge, and learn new techniques and best practices for handing a chemical emergency.
Volunteers from the Reedy Creek Fire Department’s Special Operations and Response Team (SOAR) partook in an emergency response scenario involving a diesel spill, which lead to a fire and near explosion of two 300-gallon sodium hypochlorite tanks. The team elected to go into the situation blind, to give themselves and conference attendees a chance to see the situation develop in real time, says Steve Laughlin, coordinator for the emergency response scenario for the AHMP.
Spectators watched as first responders demonstrated the resources, equipment and techniques needed to effectively put out the fire and decontaminate the area. A tabletop exercise on Monday gave conference attendees a chance to hash-out any details that could not be covered in the simulation, and a Q&A afterwards gave them an opportunity to take a closer look at equipment and learn how they can might bring these concepts back to their own community.
The AHMP National Conference was held Sept. 15-18. Next year's conference will be held in New Orleans.