Hazardous Materials DISPATCH Exercise (12.9.2013)
Participants:
1. PSAPs and Fire Departments representing the following municipalities: Bella
Vista, Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale, Siloam Springs
Exercise Description:
Springdale Fire Department will request mutual aid from all the cities listed above for a
hazardous materials emergency at a location inside their city. No physical resources will
be deployed by their agency; however the request will be made with an element of
realism.
Commentary:
Operations Chief Vaughn will initiate a radio message to the Springdale PSAP that
requests mutual aid hazardous materials response from all the cities participating. The
SFD PSAP should transmit the mutual aid request to all of the cities. Correspondingly,
all the participating cities’ PSAPs should dispatch resources to assist Springdale in a “real
world” format.
Once the alarm is received by Bella Vista, Fayetteville, Rogers and Siloam Springs, those
departments should stand down and simply acknowledge they received the notification.
Acknowledgement of the alarm should be done by utilizing an AWINS radio on
talkgroup NW2. Participating departments should simply state that they’ve received the
alarm and are standing down.
Objectives:
1. All dispatch centers notified within five (5) minutes of request.
2. All responding jurisdictions acknowledge notification on the AWINS radio
system.
3. Dispatch centers shall be notified that the mutual aid request was an exercise after
Objective #2 is met.
Hazardous Materials DISPATCH Exercise (12.9.2013) After Action Report
________________________________________________________________________
Dispatch Exercise Results:
Please find below a short synopsis of the dispatch exercise conducted December 9, 2013
at approximately 0900 hours.
Springdale Car 3 contacted Springdale PSAP at 0901 requesting a Springdale Hazmat
Alarm as well as mutual aid response from FFD, RFD, and SSFD. Springdale dispatch
was advised that Car 3 was on scene at 1200 S. Crutcher St. (Ball Corporation). This
facility had an old chemical storage tank leaking. Springdale dispatch was also instructed
to have the respective departments mark responding to Springdale Command on AWIN
NW 2.
According to radio and phone logs the following is the sequence of notifications.
(Note: After reviewing data, there appears to be some minor time divergences between
the respective organizations CAD's)
 0901
Springdale PSAP advised of hazmat incident.
 0903
Springdale Hazmat Alarm dispatched
 0904
Rogers PSAP contacted by Springdale for mutual aid
 0905
Fayetteville PSAP contacted by Springdale
 0906
RFD Hazmat units dispatched
 0907
Fayetteville PSAP contacts on-duty Shift Commander for permission to
dispatch units
 0911
Siloam Spring PSAP contacted by Springdale
 0913
Siloam PSAP contacts on-duty Shift Commander
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Conclusion:
From the time Springdale PSAP was notified of a hazmat incident, mutual aid
departments were requested, and the last department supervisor was notified of the
request, 12 minutes elapsed.
Rogers and Fayetteville PSAPs were contacted within the established 5 minute objective.
SSFD PSAP was contacted outside that goal.
According to reps from all participating departments, each mutual aid dispatch center was
relayed the detailed message of "contact Command via AWIN NW 2 upon response" and
that message was delivered to the mutual aid responders.
RFD was the only mutual aid department to actually dispatch their hazmat response and
respond on NW 2.