Army arsenal's HAZMAT exercise flowed well, into river

By Watervliet Arsenal Public AffairsApril 22, 2016

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WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. (April 2016) -- With the support of nearly 15 community and New York state emergency response teams, bringing with them more than 75 first responders, the Watervliet Arsenal conducted a hazardous material exercise here, April 20.

The arsenal was the host for this exercise that had more than 75 first responders from Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties, as well as from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and Office of Homeland Security, in support to this annual requirement.

According to John Whipple, the arsenal's fire chief, the exercise trained arsenal and community response teams to react to a simulated 6,500 gallon, oil-tanker truck leak that may have the potential to cause significant environmental concerns on and off post.

"On post, first responders from the arsenal and from the regional response teams had to seal and contain the leakage," Whipple said. "Off post, first response teams from the Albany and Troy fire departments, working with the Department of Environmental Conservation, had to contain and remove a simulated oil contamination of the Hudson River."

Raymond Davis, the Rensselaer County HAZMAT coordinator, added that this scenario exercised a situation that happens in the country every day. And therefore, there was a tremendous benefit to the community and to the state by conducting this great training event at the Watervliet Arsenal.

Arsenal public affairs officer, John Snyder, added that there is not one community that can stand alone in its ability to adequately respond to a real-world, large-scale incident involving intentional or unintentional emergency situations.

"The time to develop relationships and an understanding of how to synchronize and integrate the robust capability available in New York's Capital District is not during an emergency, Snyder said. "At the close of this exercise, not only were the local response teams better trained, they are also more aware of the unique capabilities that are readily available in the community from which to draw support from."

Up until about five years ago, the arsenal conducted these types of emergency response drills without integrating emergency response teams from the community. The arsenal has since grown its exercise in each of the last five years in the number of community participants, as well in the scope of the scenarios. This was the first time that the arsenal's scenario took the HAZMAT response outside of the arsenal's fence line.

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