With that in mind, several local law enforcement and first responder agencies took part in a live training exercise, with real-life radioactive materials, conducted at the Alpena County Fairgrounds on Wednesday.

The coordinated response, reconnaissance of the scene, determination of the substance, and an action plan was executed by dozens of highly trained emergency personnel, including the Michigan National Guard 51st Civil Support Team’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit. According to Kim Elkie, Alpena County office of emergency management and 911 services director, the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center Fire Department, Alpena Fire Department, Alpena Township Fire Department, Alpena County Emergency Management, the Department of Energy along with select local, state, regional, and federal agencies, including the FBI, participated in the exercise.

Phil Salinas, works for the contractor who created the emergency training scenario, which involved an automobile wreck where there were containers of suspicious materials spewing from them.

Local first responders, upon arrival at the crash scene, acted as they normally would at a wreck, but when they realized there was potentially a more significant threat, they contacted the base, who provides hazmat services to the Alpena area, for support.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Members of the Michigan National Guard 51st Civil Support Team’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit and local firefighters approach a pair of containers that contain radioactive materials. The first responders were taking part in an elaborate training exercise in Alpena on Wednesday.

If the spill or contamination is beyond the responders’ capabilities, the state is contacted as well as federal agencies if necessary.

“It started with a personal injury crash and the driver was taken to the hospital and they noticed there was some hazardous material packaging in the back of the vehicle,” Salinas said. “That triggered the CRTC to come out to amplify Alpena’s capabilities. Realizing it was beyond their scope of training, they called the Army National Guard weapons of mass destruction team.”

Salinas said after the entry stage of identifying the material and containing it is complete, the process of figuring out what to do to make the area safe again and get it back to normal begins.

In February, a freight train carrying vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio and several rail cars exploded, spewing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. The pollution caused an environmental and public safety emergency.

Elkie said emergencies happen unexpectedly and that’s why it is important to make sure the people who respond to them are at the top of their game. To do that, she said high intensity training is critical.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Members of the Michigan National Guard 51 st Civil Support Team’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit and local firefighters take readings to determine the severity of a radioactive material during an exercise in Alpena on Wednesday.

“There is a lot of value to having everyone, from all of these agencies, train side-by-side with one another because it builds comradery and a rapport between the different teams,” she said. “We don’t anticipate something to happen like it did in East Palestine, but we have opportunities for something to happen,” she said. “This provides us the familiarity of the bases we would need to cover. It should lead to a more coordinated response should we need it.”

The CRTC has provided mutual aid to local municipalities for years and helped fight fires and other emergencies.

Jeremy Wohlford, fire chief for the CRTC fire department, said many rural fire departments, especially in townships, require mutual aid for larger emergencies.

He said having the military being able to lend a hand is a benefit to them and residents.

“A lot of those departments are volunteers, so the services the CRTC provides is critical for all of us,” he said. “Many times they just don’t have the resources and capabilities to handle certain situations. We are required to have hazmat technicians, so we just have that niche to help support our community and it is kind of nice to have that in our backyard.”

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Local firefighters prepare for a training exercise at the Alpena County Fairgrounds on Wednesday.

A member of the Michigan National Guard 51 st Civil Support Team’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Unit examines data about the impact of a suspected radiation spill during a training exercise in Alpena on Wednesday.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Local emergency first responders and state emergency leaders coordinate a response to a mock hazardous materials spill at the Alpena County Fairgrounds on Wednesday.