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A near-exact repeat of a major Havre emergency — a report of a radioactive device on a train — occured throughout the region Wednesday … sort of.
Officials in three counties and two Indian reservations worked through a simulated emergency. The excercise tested a high-performance communications system and the emergency plans, procedures and training set in Hill, Blaine and Liberty counties and at Rocky Boy's and the Fort Belknap Indian reservations.
Hill County Sheriff Don Brostrom, who helped set up the training incident with Havre Fire Chief Dave Sheppard and representatives of the Interoperability Montana project, said he was pleased with the results.
"It does show things we need to address, " he said, adding that the problems seemed to be more issues of training than of technical or procedural problems. Testing the system
The test, which ran from about 10 a. m. to 2:40 p. m., focused on the use of new radio technology implemented in the region, part of the Interoperability Montana project.
That project is upgrading radio communications between emergency personnel to improve availability and use of communications and, eventually, to provide seamless communications throughout the state.
Havre has one of two system management centers for the communications system on the Northern Tier. That tier, which stretches from the Idaho to the North Dakota borders, is the largest group of counties of the nine consortia for improved communication in the project.
Brostrom said the test had three components — the most important being testing the communications system. The second was testing the emergency procedures developed by different groups involved in dealing with emergencies, and the final was to test the emergency operations center housed in the courtroom at the Hill County Detention Center.
Ian Marquand, public affairs director for Interoperability Montana, said the design of the test was to see how well the communication system works, as well as to make sure the different groups using the system had access and knew how to use it.
The simulation started shortly after 10 a. m. when Deputy Marty Reichelt received a call from the sheriff's dispatcher reporting the FBI had called to say a "radiological device" had been reported on the westbound Amtrak passenger train approaching Havre.
Brostrom said the incident was "eerily similar" to an incident in the late 1990s, when such a call actually did come in. The end of the simulation, at about 2:30 p. m., also mimicked the real event, when a Malmstrom bomb squad found the report to be a hoax.
Throughout the event, the officials in the emergency operations center — Havre Assistant Fire Chief Tim Hedges; the incident commander, Hill County Undersheriff Jamie Ross, the public information officer; Hill County Health Department Director Danielle Golie; and Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Joe Parenteau — assessed the information they were receiving and took action based on the county emergency operations plan.
The actions involved multiple jurisdictions, including evaluators watching the procedures of each group involved. That included contacting the Northern Montana Medical Group and the county Health Department to prepare for treating injuries and creating a shelter and the Havre Public Schools to set up the evacuation center; coordinating work of the Havre Fire Department and the Hill County Sheriff's Office; and bringing in U. S. Border Patrol agents to help provide security.
Other actions included bringing in the Hill County Commission to approve an evacuation order for the region where the train would be stopped — at the rest area just east of Havre — and calling the Blaine County, Liberty County, Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap authorities to ask their law enforcement and emergency services be on standby in case they were needed.
The exercise also included contacting and working with Amtrak and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway.
The groups working in the exercise were designated to different channels on the radio system, allowing separate channels to communicate with groups such as the school bus system, the hospital, law enforcement working on traffic control and those working directly at the scene.
Other incidents were thrown into the exercise with which the people in the exercise had to deal, such as much of the town — including the emergency operations center — losing all telephone service.
Marty Angeli, communications system planner for Interoperability Montana, was the evaluator of the test at the hospital. He said the test there was "fabulous. "
"I think they got a lot out of the operation today, " he said, adding that he was impressed with the health care system's internal procedures as well as the use of the external communications system.
The exercise showed work that needed to be done, as well.
"You can have the best procedures in the books, but when you put them into operation it's completely different, " Angeli said. "I was glad to see they could see the problems and react. "
Parenteau made similar comments.
"Any exercise is a learning process …, " he said. "Overall, it was good. It lets us see where training is needed, see where all departments need work. "
Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi said that, as a first-term elected official the exercise was very helpful to him. He had read the county's emergency plan, but seeing the exercise gave a new perspective.
"I looked through it, but you see what it really was put together for, " he said.
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