Volume 12
May 2017 Edition
See Joint CBRN Exercises with MDFRD & Army Reserves in Action
Capt . Jeff Suarez , the Air Rescue Bureau Manager with MDFR , begins the decontamination process at the Port of Miami during a joint hazard material exercise with the Army Reserve ’ s 329th CBRN Company ( Image Credit : Master Sgt . Mark Bell , Army Reserve )
The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department ( MD- FRD ), U . S . Army Reserve Soldiers , National Guard , and several local law enforcement agencies and PortMiami authorities partnered together to train for something each hope to never put into action .
The Mission Reserve Soldiers assigned to the Orlando-based 329th Chemical , Biological , Radiological and Nuclear ( 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 , were assigned the mission :
To mobilize and deploy to assess and / or mitigate a suspected weapon of mass destruction within the Miami port authority property
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 .
Lt . Alvaro Tonanez , the HAZMAT lead trainer for one of the largest fire departments in America , said , “ I couldn ’ t think of a better training environment than one of the busiest ports .”
“ 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 .”
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