September 6 - 10, 2018

Urban Shield has grown into a comprehensive, full-scale regional preparedness exercise.

 

FIRE

Red Area Command Overview

This year’s host for the Red Command is the Vallejo Fire Department.  The Incident Commander who will oversee the activities of the Red Area Command will be Acting-Fire Chief Mark Sharpe.   “Fire Branch” scenarios for 2018 as required by the Department of Homeland Security will be primarily based on responses to hazardous materials, land and water based, search and rescue incidents with a nexus to terrorism. There will be a continued emphasis placed on decision-making skills rather than simply completing a specific set of tasks.

Participating teams will also be evaluated on their ability to participate in a multi-disciplinary approach to an incident through their interaction with other first responders and civilian volunteers typically present at large scale incidents during a series of timed scenarios. To maximize “on-scene” time of teams, the travel distance to the next scenario location will be kept to a minimum by locating all the scenario sites within a 10-minute travel distance.

Participating Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) teams, Hazardous Materials teams, Maritime fire/rescue boats and their crews start rotating through assigned scenarios beginning on Saturday, September 8th at 8:00 a.m. and finishing around 8:00 p.m. that evening.  Teams assigned to participate on Sunday will repeat the process.

US&R teams will participate in four time-based scenarios lasting approximately 3 hours each.  On Saturday, Maritime fire/rescue/EMS boats and crews will participate in an all- day regional maritime airplane crash scenario that will take place on the San Francisco Bay near the Oakland International Airport.  On Sunday, Maritime fire/rescue/EMS boats and crews will participate in five, time-based scenarios each lasting approximately 1 hour each with the goal of all boats being off the water before sunset.  Hazardous materials teams will participate in six-time based scenarios each lasting approximately 2 hours each.  Scenarios will be geared at evaluating a particular knowledge and/or skill set using the Firescope description for a Type 1 resource for that discipline.  All teams will be evaluated and graded by at least one proctor who will be a subject matter expert. Those teams with the highest cumulative scores will be selected to receive special recognition during an awards banquet on Monday, September 14th.

Once they have arrived at a scenario site teams will attend a general briefing that will orient them to the site, provide the rules of engagement and direct them to work the scenario in a unified manner, sharing resources and personnel. Scenarios will end with a short presentation by the participants, intended to provide an opportunity for them to describe what problems were identified, how they were resolved, rationale for tasks performed, lessons learned, followed by general feedback from the proctor regarding performance.

US&R teams will be joined together with other teams to form task forces which will be presented with realistic, mentally and physically challenging, state-of-the-art training scenarios which will require them to demonstrate their ability to operate in an “all risk” environment.  Examples of “all-risk” include rescue from confined spaces, high and low angle rescues, entrapments, building collapse, etc.  US&R task forces should be prepared to size up a rescue incident, control any hazards that are present, establish the necessary infrastructure to support day/night operations, perform a search for trapped victims, provide EMS in the area of entrapment when medically indicated, disentangle trapped victims through spreading, prying, cutting, lifting or lowering operations, then extricate victims to an area of safety in preparation for transport.  All US&R task forces will be evaluated and graded by at least one proctor who will be a subject matter expert.

Hazardous Materials Team Expectations

Hazardous materials response teams must demonstrate their ability in a series of realistic, mentally and physically challenging, state-of-the-art training scenarios to respond to the uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances during transportation or at fixed facilities as well as incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.  Participating teams should be prepared to use detection and monitoring devices, perform product sampling and identification through wet chemistry or instrumentation, detect and identify radioactive sources, refer to technical manuals and/or chemical safety databases, perform hazard analysis, perform plume modeling, collecting samples for the purpose of establishing exclusionary zones and perimeters, provide recommendations to fire, rescue, EMS, law enforcement, public works, and CERT/NERT personnel regarding  protective actions, product control and mitigation measures, selection of personal protective equipment,  decontamination and disposal.   All hazmat teams will be evaluated and graded by at least one proctor who will be a subject matter expert.

Maritime/Fire/Rescue Team Expectations

Maritime/Fire/Rescue and EMS teams will be presented with realistic, mentally and physically challenging, state-of-the-art training scenarios that will require them to demonstrate their ability to operate in an “all risk” environment.  Examples of “all-risk” include searching for persons reported overboard, in-water rescues, responding to calls for a boat in distress, technical rescue, hazmat, as well as the provision of EMS for sick and/or injured survivors.  Boat handling, navigation, use of navigation aids and familiarity with maritime rescue tools and equipment will also be evaluated.  All maritime/fire/rescue and EMS boats and crews will be evaluated and graded by at least one proctor who will be a subject matter expert.

As in previous years CERT/NERT personnel will be helping the Red Area Command with check-in/check-out of competing hazmat, US&R and maritime/fire/Rescue and EMS and CERT/NERT teams at various locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, providing situation/status updates via ham radio from scenario sites to the Red Area Command Post, helping as support staff to set-up/reset scenarios for competing teams, and/or play the role of CERT/NERT members at the scene of an emergency, and/or sick and injured persons who need to be evaluated and treated. CERT/NERT participation in Urban Shield provides a unique opportunity to interact with your local and regional hazmat, US&R and maritime/water rescue teams as they would in a real emergency. All CERT/NERT teams will be evaluated and graded by at least one proctor who will be a subject matter expert.

New and Emerging Technologies

Sponsoring vendors will be present at selected scenario sites to showcase new and emerging technologies to aid first responders at the scene of US&R and hazardous materials incidents.  Participants will also have an opportunity to utilize these new and emerging technologies during scenarios.

Participation Encouraged-Help Spread the Word!

Sponsoring vendors will be present at selected scenario sites to showcase new and emerging technologies to aid first responders at the scene of US&R an

Participation Encouraged-Help Spread the Word!

First responder organizations, CERT and NERT teams may participate in any of the following ways:

  1. Help with planning the event by becoming a part of the exercise design team
  2. Help with the preparing/teardown of scenario sites on Friday, September 7th and/or Monday, September 10th, 2018.
  3. Send interested persons who wish to serve as assistant safety officers, site captains, assistant site captains as well as proctors (subject matter experts) to help with team assessments as they work through the scenarios or role players on Saturday, September 8th or Sunday, September 9th from 0700 to 2230 hours.
  4. Send your hazardous materials team comprised of no more than 10 personnel that includes their supervisor who will be assigned to compete from 0800-2200 hours on either Saturday, September 8th or Sunday, September 9th in six realistic, challenging, and state-of-the-art training scenarios.
  5. Send your maritime fire/rescue/EMS boat and crew comprised of no more than six personnel that includes their supervisor and a trainee who will be assigned to compete from 0800-1800 hours on either Saturday, September 8th to participate in the airplane crash scenario or Sunday, September 9th in the five realistic, challenging, and state-of-the-art training scenarios.
  6. Send your local agency urban search and rescue/technical rescue team comprised of no more than 10 personnel that includes their supervisor who will be assigned to compete from Saturday, September 8th or Sunday, September 9th in four realistic, challenging, and state-of-the-art training scenarios.

How to Sign-Up

The Fire Branch has authorization to allow a total of 16 US&R teams, 12 hazardous materials, 10 maritime and to participate in Urban Shield 2018 (Sunday).  In the event there is a demand for additional slots, efforts will be made to try and accommodate additional teams.  To sign up as a single resource or your department/agency's team, please contact CANG Staff Sergeant Anastasiya Maynich, the PLANS Section Chief for the Red Area Command at (254) 319-4801 or via e-mail at anastasiya.mayich@sfgov.org

Why you and Your Department/Agency's Participation is Important

Urban Shield is designed to strengthen each participating agency’s preparedness to respond in a unified manner to threats or actual domestic terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.  Participation in Urban Shield is a unique opportunity to evaluate the competencies of your hazardous materials and/or US&R team in real life scenarios that they are likely to encounter which will help validate effectiveness of an organization’s training, policies, procedures, as well as the return on investment by a community.  Urban Shield also presents US&R, hazmat, maritime and CERT/NERT leaders a unique opportunity to further develop the knowledge/skills of talented individuals within their organizations whom they hope will aspire for greater responsibility.

For more information on Urban Shield or the Red Command-Fire Branch visit http://www.urbanshield.org/.  For first responders or   their organizations that wish to obtain more information about how they may participate, CANG Staff Sergeant Anastasiya Maynich, the PLANS Section Chief for the Red Area Command at (254) 319-4801 or via e-mail at anastasiya.maynich@sfgov.org REMEMBER-ALL RED AREA COMMAND COMMAND, GENERAL STAFF AND OTHERS INCLUDING VOLUNTEERS MUST SIGN-UP ON THE URBAN SHIELD WEBSITE LISTED ABOVE!!!!  To register click the "Register" tab on the Urban Shield website and follow the instruction provided.

 

Best Regards,

Mark Sharpe

2018 Red Area Command Incident Commander (IC)

Acting Fire Chief

Vallejo Fire Department

 

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