Coast Guard, Local Agencies Conduct Emergency Response Drill

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Savannah and several local agencies are conducting a table-top emergency response drill to improve incident management skills and inter-agency cooperation. A complex scenario has been developed that will test the skills of police, fire and Coast Guard personnel as they manage a fictitious vessel grounding, fire, mass casualty, oil spill, and homeland security incident, all occurring simultaneously. This exercise is aimed at testing command and control elements. There will be no field activity associated with this exercise. Local agencies participating in the drill include the Savannah and Garden City Fire Departments, Georgia Ports Authority Port Police, Chatham County Sheriff's Department and Garden City Police Department. This drill follows two days of extensive training on incident command system techniques and procedures, a system used for commanding, controlling and coordinating the efforts of individual agencies during a crisis or major event. Emergency Management Services International, a private entity based out of Culpeper, Va., was contracted by the Coast Guard to provide the training and drill oversight.