Regional Exercise to be Conducted July 17

07/05/2012
Lawrence, Kan. -- Douglas County Emergency Management is managing a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant to conduct a full-scale, regional exercise on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The exercise will have participation by emergency response agencies in 19 counties in northeast Kansas. The level of participation by individual agencies in the various counties will vary from tabletop exercise practice of emergency plans and procedures to full-scale response with personnel and equipment at a simulated disaster site. For example, in Douglas County there will be a field response by law enforcement, fire and medical units to a hazardous materials incident, and subsequent opening of the Emergency Operations Center and a Joint Information Center, as well as exercising the Hospital Incident Command System and practicing patient decontamination at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The Douglas County All-Hazards Behavioral Health Team also will be activated. Functional exercises also will take place in Geary County at a simulated incident site and at Geary Community Hospital in Junction City, in Franklin County at Ransom Memorial Hospital in Ottawa, and in Jefferson County at F.W. Huston Medical Center in Winchester. Tabletop exercises will take place in 15 other northeast Kansas counties. Called "Operation Luminous Sunflower," this six-hour exercise will provide response agencies the opportunity to identify the response and coordination issues before an incident and allows us to better respond in an actual event: - Demonstrate the ability to direct, coordinate, and control emergency activities using the Incident Command System - Provide a means to assess the readiness of local emergency plans and response capabilities - Test the knowledge and skills or response agencies - Demonstrate the interface necessary among cities, county, townships, adjacent jurisdictions and state response agencies in a major disaster/emergency - Serve as a training tool for emergency response personnel - Provide an opportunity to practice skills and improve individual performance under varying degrees of stress.

Related Links:
Press Release - http://bit.ly/NCUvNI

Media Contact:
Bob Newton, Public Information Officer
Emergency Management Department
785-331-5787
tsmith@douglas-county.com