The weeks and months leading up to June 10th-12th were very busy in Emergency Management as we prepared to host and coordinate a weekend full of training and exercise opportunities for area first responders. Below is a summary of the events that took place, as well as selection of some of the pictures taken that weekend.

Railway Extrication Drill....  On Friday evening, June 10th, responders gathered at the BNSF rail yard in El Dorado to practice extricating victims from a locomotive. Brock Lowman of BNSF started out the evening with a safety briefing, then gave the group access to a BNSF locomotive to run through three different rescue scenarios. Participants included Butler County EMS, Butler County Rescue Squad, El Dorado Fire, Frontier Refinery Fire Dept, El Dorado Police Dept, and Rice County EMA.

TransCAER Anhydrous Ammonia Tour Training... The next morning, bright and early, responders once again gathered at the BNSF rail yard for training on the properties of anhydrous ammonia and safe response to an anhydrous incident. Sam Konkel (Sedgwick County Fire) and Brock Lowman (BNSF) taught the classroom portion of the training under a group of tents in the fresh morning air. Then Brock and John Prather (Groendyke Transport) moved the training to a rail tank car and highway tanker for a more hands-on discussion of transport incidents. Attendees included BCFD #7, BCFD #10, Butler County EMS, Sedgwick County CERT, Wichita Fire, El Dorado Fire, Rice County EMA, El Dorado Police Dept, Fort Riley Fire, Frontier Refinery, KDHE, Salina Fire, and Cowley College. Butler County CERT assisted with logistics such as set-up, tear down, and parking/traffic control.

Highway Rescue Full-Scale Exercise...  The weekend's activities continued on Sunday morning, June 12th. An exercise design team comprised of representatives from Butler County Emergency Mgmt, El Dorado Fire, Butler County EMS and KDEM put on a full scale exercise intended to test response to a hazardous materials highway incident. The scenario, which was carried out at the KDOT gravel pit west of El Dorado, involved a collision between a car and an anhydrous tanker, resulting in pinned victims contaminated by a chemical release. Members of Butler County CERT's moulage team prepped the live victims to add to the realism of the exercise, and Groendyke Transport allowed the use of their training tanker. Agencies participating in the exercise included: Butler County Rescue Squad, El Dorado Fire/HazMat, BCFD #10, Rice County EMA, El Dorado Police Dept, Butler County Sheriff's Office, Butler County Emerg Mgmt, and Butler County EMS. Controllers/evaluators for the exercise included representatives from Butler County Emerg Mgmt, Butler County EMS, KDEM, El Dorado Fire/HazMat and Cowley College.