ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- A shooting by a disgruntled employee quickly escalated to a chemical incident, which tasked the training of Anniston Army Depot's Directorate of Emergency Services as well as mutual aid agreements with local agencies.
Fortunately, it was all a test.
The depot's Annual Protection Exercise, held Sept. 19, was meant to check the installation's emergency management procedures and additions to the exercise kept employees on their toes.
The faux incident began at 8:39 a.m. when an emergency call informed the depot's dispatchers about an armed man firing at employees near the 80-ton gantry crane, known as Clyde, in the industrial area.
"We try to exercise and train on the likeliest hazardous scenarios we might face, whether it be man-made or natural," said Thyris Banks, the depot's operations officer. "We try to target and prepare ourselves as best we can, so we can save lives."
By the end of the exercise, the Emergency Operations Center was tested as well as security forces, fire and emergency services and the depot's hazardous materials procedures.
HazMat was called in response to a simulated chemical spill at the scene. As part of the exercise, a sulfuric acid spill was injected into the event.
The corrosive chemical spill meant those who responded to the event had to don protective equipment and it checked the installation's ability to predict where fumes from a spill would go.
At the conclusion of the training, Col. Brent Bolander, the depot's commander, thanked the participants, letting them know how valuable their contributions were.
"We are better prepared today, right now, than we were hours ago and we will continue to improve," he said.
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