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| Photo by: J. Hardwick |
| Members of the Glynn County Fire Department
become familiar with Haz-Mat protection suits guided by the instructors of
The US Department of Homeland Security. The eyes of the world will be on The
Golden Isles of Georgia for The President's G-8 Summit in June 2004. |
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GLYNN COUNTY, GA - The above theme
rang out over and over as Homeland Security began teaching classes about
“Weapons of Mass Destruction” to The Glynn County Fire Department, Glynn County
Volunteer Fire Departments, the Police Departments, and local hospital staff.
For our consecutive days employees were given daylong instruction from what was
said to be the most knowledgeable instructors in the county from the Office of
Homeland Security. Special Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training took place
the week of April 4 through April 10, 2004.
The mood was somber and serious as
exercises were presented to emergency services workers, responders, medical, and
staff members to help prepare them for the Sea Island G-8 Summit in June 2004.
The exercises were prepared and delivered by personnel from the Federal Homeland
Security Center for Domestic Preparedness. There were at least 15 instructors
from all over the country, each an expert in their respective fields of
experience. Over 250 employees including all of the Glynn County Fire
Department, volunteers, and support staff took part in the training, which
spanned the course of a week.
Different workshops were presented in
the areas of chemical weapons, biological weapons, radiological weapons,
detection, destructive devices, and toxic decontamination. Training is designed
to prepare 1st Responders for everything. There is no way to know what emergency
responders will be faced with in June as Coastal Georgia will have an influx of
people from all over the world.
Many have said to expect over one
hundred fifty thousand people in Savannah and Glynn County Georgia. The G-8
summit includes heads of state of Canada, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Germany,
The United States, and The United Kingdom. Previous summits have attracted
predominantly non-violent demonstrators who protest everything from global
issues, to environmental, to capitalism.
Students were taught to recognize
potential homemade weapons and bombs. Examples of potentially dangerous objects
that public safety officers might encounter in a violent protest situation were
revealed. These devices include the common cell phones, household cleaners,
backpacks, and other items were discussed.
Everyone donned contamination suits,
protective masks, and gloves for some of the training exercises. Hazardous
materials and chemical training was the subject of much of the training.
Terrorism was the topic of discussion and the key phrase was that as 1st
Responders, “We do not want to deliver victims to the scene or incident”.
Everyone who took part in the training felt that members of a great department
were being trained to become even better. The G-8 Summit is less than two months
away and much more training is in store.
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