Emergency Response and Evacuation Exercise Reviews for 2011

Pocatello – The First Annual “Great Idaho Shakeout” Earthquake Awareness and Drill

October 20, 2011-

Exercise Purpose & Design:

Idaho State University (ISU) Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security participated in the first annual Great Idaho Shake Out during the week of October 17^th, 2011. The purpose was to raise awareness of the steps needed to preserve life in the event of an earthquake and as an educational activity for the children who attend the Early Learning Center and the Early Childhood Partnership Program located on the Main Campus of ISU in Pocatello.

Conclusion:

We received positive response and some inquiries from Faculty and Staff on the main campus. The Financial Aid Office asked for a brief presentation and additional information which we provided prior to October 20th. The Directors of the Early Learning Center and the Early Childhood Partnership Program reported that the children enjoyed the ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On’ activity and were receptive to the information that was provided.

Idaho Falls – Fire In the Hood Table Top Exercise

August 8, 2011-

Exercise Purpose & Design:

To test emergency notification procedures for University Place entities (Idaho State University, University of Idaho, and Idaho National Laboratories and outside agencies Idaho Falls Police Department, Idaho Falls Fire and EMS Departments, and the Bonneville Sheriff’s Department. The exercise is specifically designed to exercise and evaluate evacuation and fire response procedures for all afore-mentioned stakeholders.

Conclusion:

· Provide fire safety supplies in all labs & inventory on an annual basis.

· ISU/UI personnel will put together a coordinated combined reporting procedure for hazmat incidents.

· UI CAES will provide Public Safety dispatch access to their hazmat inventory list.

· ISU TSO will create a hazmat users list with location, type of hazmat and contact info.

ISU Meridian Health Science Center – Active Shooter Table Top Exercise

September 15, 2011-

Exercise Purpose & Design:

The ISU Meridian/Renaissance High School Active Shooter Table Top Exercise (TTX) was developed to assess the coordinated response efforts and incident management capabilities of agencies from Idaho State University, Renaissance High School, The Meridian School District, area first responders from Meridian Police, Fire and EMS, State Communications and St. Luke’s Hospital in Meridian.

The TTX was designed to establish a learning environment for players to exercise emergency response plans, policies, and procedures as they pertain to an active shooter scenario. The exercise provided a scenario that allowed participants to work through the problems created by an active shooter entering a building with explosives, that is shared by a University and a high school, with casualties and injuries

Conclusion:

The tabletop was a successful exercise and provided ISU Meridian/Renaissance High School, MSD participants, and local area first responders the opportunity to work on important incident planning and management skills prior to the full scale exercise that will be held in Fall 2012. This allowed all participants to have a better understanding of each entity’s roles and responsibilities during a mass casualty and active threat incident as well as what to expect from each other. Participants noted the areas to work on that include communication, combining some evacuation/lockdown procedures, and providing redundant or better locations for certain equipment. Attendees felt this was a beneficial use of their time and provided an opportunity for participants to apply skills they would need to effectively manage large scale emergencies through pre-planned multi-agency coordination.