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In Pictures: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Trains with Army CBRN Soldiers

Capt. Jeff Suarez, the Air Rescue Bureau Manager with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR), begins the decontamination process at the Port of Miami.

Miami is among America’s busiest ports. Both container and cruise ships come in and out of the port carrying thousands of shipping containers and more than 4 million passengers each year. The port is shadowed by dozens of skyscrapers in nearby downtown Miami and more than 5 million people who live in the surrounding area.

This was the backdrop for a recent joint military-civilian exercise to prepare to deploy and mitigate Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
An Army Reserve Soldier uses a multiple gas monitor on a Soldier who has returned from a contaminated shipping container through the decontamination site during joint training with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.
Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
A U.S. Army Reserve Soldier with the 329th Chemical Company based in Orlando, Fla., inspects his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
U.S. Army Reserve Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear specialists with the 329th Chemical Company based in Orlando, Fla., assist HAZMAT technicians with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department with patching a hazardous leak on a container. Credit: Marisol Walker
Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Landon P. Jezek, with the 329th Chemical Company based in Orlando, Fla., removes his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
Firefighters with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department response to a scenario at a joint hazard material exercise at the Port of Miami.

Reserve Soldiers assigned to the Orlando-based 329th CBRN Company (Reconnaissance and Surveillance), supported by the Army Reserve’s 469th Ground Ambulance Company from Wichita, Kansas, and the Florida National Guard’s Civil Support Team, deployed to the exercise to assess and mitigate a suspected weapon of mass destruction within the Miami port authority property during the training event held Feb. 18, 2017.

Sponsored by Department of Defense’s U.S. Northern Command and hosted by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFRD), the hazardous material exercise was the second joint-training event between a large municipality and the Defense CBRN Force.

Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise Port of Miami
Army Reserve Warrant Officer Candidate Tod Zellers gives instructors to Soldiers approaching the decontamination station at the Port of Miami

“I couldn’t think of a better training environment than one of the busiest ports,” said Lt. Alvarao Tonanez, the HAZMAT lead trainer for one of the largest fire departments in America, with more than 3,000 personnel assigned to MDFRD. “To put our firefighters and the Army Reserve unit into a realistic scenario where we could use the assistance in a real-world situation is a win-win for both sides.”

When needed, the 329th CBRN Company can assist civilian responders at a scene and provide capabilities that may not be available for the civilian incident commander. Like local fire departments and HAZMAT teams, the 329th CBRN Company has the capability to identify and analyze certain toxic chemicals and materials with advanced equipment and can provide that critical support to an incident commander.

Miami-Dade Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Training

Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise - Port of Miami
Army Reserve Soldiers and firefighters assigned to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) work together to seal a hole in tank containing hazardous material during joint training with the MDFR at the Port of Miami on Feb. 18, 2017 in Miami, Fla.
Miami-Dade Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise
An Army Reserve Soldier uses his body weight to hold a patch to seal a hole on a tank containing hazardous materials during the exercise.
Miami-Dade Joint Military-Civilian CBRN Exercise
Lt. Christopher Pecori, a flight medic with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, watches Army Reserve Soldiers patching a hole in a hazardous material container.

These joint training events also help build relationships and ensure local responders and the Army Reserve Soldiers understand each other’s responsibilities during an emergency or catastrophic incident. When the time comes to combine resources in a real-world event, both organizations already have those established connections and common language.

Article adapted from original by Mark Bell, U.S. Army Reserve Command, edited for context and format by CBRNE Central.

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