Officials hold mock emergency

Test of local systems proves successful

By LeAnn Eckroth, Senior Staff Writer

In a scenario that could be too true in oil patch country, emergency officials, medical personnel and local leaders honed their response skills Wednesday in a mock disaster, simulated at the New Armory.

It all started with the announcement of a pseudo crash between a semi tanker and a passenger vehicle at the intersection of Ninth Avenue West and U.S. Highway 2/U.S. Highway 85. The standard 911 calls began, and authorities were alerted.

Ambulance and fire crews quickly learned that this was much more than their average vehicle crash.

Chaos erupted with radio scanners squawking that a clear, unidentified fluid was leaking out of the 5,000-gallon tank of the semi.

Identifying a hazardous material label on the truck, emergency officials did not immediately approach. Instead they identified the truck's content in their Emergency Response Guide (ERG) book.

“We have formic acid leaking out of semi tanker,” announced Volunteer Fire Chief Darwin Stevens. Stevens said formic acid is a poisonous material used as an acidifier for oil work. Stevens soon assumed the duty of leader of the incident command post at the scene.

This mock accident occurred, just as it could in reality, in a very populated and delicate area of the city.

Less than two blocks away is Wilkinson Elementary School - its 230 students and 30 teachers going about the business of a usual school day. Just down the road is Mercy Medical Center. Across the bypass is a residential area, flooded with apartment complexes and private homes.

None of this information escaped the many entities involved in the exercise, forcing them react and take safety precautions accordingly.

Stevens, among the first at the scene, had to make a number of very important decisions in a matter of moments. He then had to assess the safety of his people and the public, and call for resources.

Quickly he decided the crisis merited calling in Williams County Emergency and Disaster Services Manager Ed Lodwig.

Lodwig activated an Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and brought in community leaders like the mayor, fire chief, public works department and others who could be affected. The EOC, a communication center away from the crisis, then served as a resource for Stevens' incident command post near the scene.

Ambulances and fire trucks strategically positioned themselves at a distance around the perimeter of the accident scene, waiting for their next move.

One man, the truck driver, survived the crash, but two others died at the scene. The truck driver was crawling away from the crash site as emergency crews weighed the risk of going in to help.

In an emergency of this magnitude, there is a blunt reality. Crews had to decide to leave the deceased until later, and set up a decontamination area for the survivor and others affected by the chemicals. A commonly known fact among emergency crews is that you cannot help others unless you are first safe yourself. “You must protect yourself first,” Lodwig explained.

Others were called in to help, too.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members assisted to control spectators, traffic and concerned residents who were alarmed about their children.

With a limited amount of vehicles, people and resources, Stevens calls in mutual aid from emergency responders from Watford City, Trenton and Tioga to assist.

Williston Public School Superintendent Warren Larson was alerted, and he ordered Wilkinson school students to the gymnasium. He shut off the school's ventilation system. He later ordered buses to evacuate all occupants of the school to another school building on the opposite side of town. He also evacuated his staff from the school district office, potentially located in the path of the fumes.

Another nearby school, Trinity Christian School, was not evacuated because it was upwind from the disaster, but emergency crews monitored weather conditions in case of a change. Williston Middle School and Williston High School were placed on a shelter in place status, a lock-down of sorts, because they too were near the path of the spill.

Williston Public Works Director Monte Meiers and his staff were pulled into the situation as well, and asked to block off traffic in certain areas of town to ease congestion in the area. Immediately, the roads directly affected by the accident were closed off for one-half mile in all directions.

Mercy Medical Center also was in the path of the crash, and downwind from the plumes. The hospital implemented an in-shelter lock-down, and accepted no more patients. They braced themselves to move patients, and evacuate if necessary.

Damage control is also relayed through the media. Debbie Richter of the Upper Missouri District Health Unit was activated as the public information officer for the incident. She intermittently set up press conferences to update the public, bringing in officials as they became available.

Richter warned spectators to stay away and allow emergency crews to do their work, making announcements of where evacuated students could be picked up.

As officials assessed the situation, the crisis escalated, and fire erupted at the crash site. As the fire raged, an evacuation was implemented and traffic blocked off for at least a half mile radius. The ERG book advised crews it was best to let the fire burn itself out, which is how the exercise ended, 2 1/2 hours after it began.

“It was a good exercise. It was very realistic,” said Lodwig. “We all know that's a bad intersection for accidents. It can be slippery. It has all the ingredients to have a crisis there. We have fuel trucks going through there all of the time.”

According to Lodwig, in a few weeks, trainers from the Local Government Homeland Security Training Exercise Program will return with a follow-up report, explaining any weaknesses in the response.

If any obvious needs are identified, the community could be eligible for funds to make changes.

Lodwig said Williston officials and their support did very well. “This will help us to respond better to different types of emergencies,” he said.

The exercise was coordinated through the North Dakota League of Cities and North Dakota Association of Counties.

LeAnn Eckroth can be reached at leckroth@willistonherald.com.