Baltimore City Fire Department
Martin O'Malley, Mayor
William J. Goodwin, Jr., Chief of Fire Department
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Michael M. Maybin or Kevin Cartwright
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Telephone: 410-396-5616
Fire Department to Conduct a Joint Training Exercise "Operation Down Under"
On September 27 - 28, 2003 the Baltimore City Fire Department will host a regional training exercise in East Baltimore simulating a domestic terrorist attack on the Baltimore Metro Subway's Johns Hopkins station. In this simulation, a chemical will be released in the station by means of an explosive device and an aerosolizing device. Approximately 250 victims will be affected and in need of decontamination and treatment.
This exercise will provide a unique opportunity for area fire departments and the United States Marine Corps to work together and utilize their specialized equipment and training as a team. Each department will provide a hazardous material (HazMat) team and equipment.
Participants in this exercise will include: Fire Department units from Baltimore City, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford, Howard and Carroll Counties, Annapolis City and the United States Marine Corps' Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF). Supporting agencies include: The Baltimore City Police Department, Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), Maryland Transit Administration, Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS), Baltimore City Health Department and the Maryland Air National Guard.
The Chemical and Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) is a Marine Corps unit established in 1996 to respond to possible chemical and biological terrorist attacks and is located in Indian Head, Maryland. CBIRF is capable of rapid response to chemical or biological incidents.
The goals of this training exercise are to test the regional departments ability to decontaminate a large group of victims, identify the chemical used, locate and rescue victims trapped in the station, effectively communicate with the other departments and agencies involved, and to integrate various city and county agencies into incident command to bring such an incident to a successful conclusion.
This exercise is in keeping with Mayor Martin O'Malley's commitment to Homeland Security and Defense, and to keep Baltimore one of America's safest cities.
