Joint CBRN Training for Special Disaster Response Unit – Part II
Bertin Environics conducted in May a CBRNE Advanced training in Greece for EMAK, the Special Disaster Response Unit from Hellenic Fire Corps. The training was administered together with Polyeco — local representative in Greece — and Safetycon. The training took place in various training areas and realistic locations in the surroundings of Athens.
This was the second week of a 2-week training course(s) on CBRNE Basic and CBRNE Advanced Training. The first part of this training course was held approximately 1,5 months ago in Mikkeli.
EMAK rescuers, together with Training Manager Toni Leikas from Bertin Environics, and Janne Vehviläinen and Ville Koljonen from Safetycon.
The Advanced course started with deeper and more practical hands-on training of ChemProX, practicing all of its advanced communication features and training simulations, for providing more tools for the next days’ practical exercises included in the course. This comprised a tabletop exercise for chemical incident, which focused on incident commander and command centre CBRN incident management tasks and actions. The last hands-on training practiced operational sampling procedures to avoid cross contamination.
Chemical incident scenario photos. ChemProX handheld chemical detector and EnviScreen Operix CBRN Monitoring System Software being utilized by EMAK Special Disaster Response Unit from Hellenic Fire Corps.
CBRN realistic exercises — executed within the possibilities available — challenged operators and leaders to react in chemical accidents and chemical terrorism scenarios, following procedures in areas with contaminated victims. These chemical scenarios also stringed the co-operation between EMAK and ambulance services. The biological scenarios focused on strengthening procedures providing detailed information and tips for avoiding contamination spreading and operation on the crime scene.
ENVI Assay bio defense tests and ChemProX with Bio Memo (featured in ChemProX CBRN Kit) utilized in Biological incident scenarios.
The final radiation exercises were conducted in underground facilities, providing challenges for communication and operations in the dark. Radiological scenarios included basic radiological “orphan sources” detection, location, and identification, not forgetting how to handle leaking sources and contaminated victim and decontamination
ChemProX with RDM – Radiation Detector Module (featured in ChemProX CBRN Kit) utilized in Radiation incident training by EMAK operators.
“The trainings and exercises visualised how professional EMAK and its operators are in the area of CBRNE, they have tools, skills and understanding to combinate all those together and how to adjust those in various types of events.”
Training Manager Toni Leikas from Bertin Environics.
The Greek team also provided valuable feedback that will serve as a basis for the continuous development process of our trainings.
“The full coverage of the CBRN element. It was organized well from presentation till the field exercises. Friendly and well organised trainers. Toni is the best trainer!”