2/27/14 - First responders from around mid-Michigan, including Livingston County, took part in a training exercise yesterday to make sure they are prepared for real-life rescue missions. At a union training facility in Perry, northwest of Fowlerville, representatives from about a dozen fire departments worked cooperatively to overcome rescue scenarios involving a worker partially buried at the bottom of a ditch that has been contaminated with a hazardous substance. The Howell, Brighton, and Fowlerville fire departments were represented at the exercise by members of the Livingston County Technical Response and Hazmat Team. Howell Fire Chief Andy Pless says his team's main objective in the simulations was to identify and monitor the hazardous substance while making sure the workers, the victim, and the public were safe from contamination. He tells WHMI it is important for first responders to become familiar with the equipment and people they will work with in the event of an actual emergency. Fire departments from Lansing, East Lansing, Jackson, Perry, Delta, and Summit Township were also represented at the exercise. Making sure local firefighters have these skills is also an issue of national importance, since rescue operations after large-scale disasters like 9/11 can require assistance from departments across the country. The Department of Homeland Security provided federal funds to hold the exercise. (TD)
↧