A DFEMS Hazmat responder suits up for a “gas leak” scenario during the Konfitma 2024 exercises on Wednesday.
“THE 2024 Konfitma exercises were successful,” CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management Public Information Officer Bernard Villagomez said on Wednesday.
“It’s very important that we practice all these exercises just in case a real-world scenario was to happen, which we don’t want, but it’s better to be prepared for the CNMI community, for the students, for the government responders to test their capabilities. So, when the real incident happens, we’re prepared, and we can protect the CNMI community,” he added.
He said coordinating these types of exercises is complicated “especially with over 100 participants and emergency responders.”
“The main challenge is coordinating with the different agencies, and because of the sensitivity of the scenarios with over 100 personnel from various agencies, communication is very important. As well as communicating with the community and the parents regarding the ongoing increased activity of first responders at various locations in Kagman area,” Villagomez said.
He noted that the Public School System provided the community, parents and students information regarding the exercises.
On Sept. 3, Tuesday, an “active shooter scenario” was conducted at Kagman High School and lockdown procedures were implemented at KHS, Chacha Ocean View Middle School, Kagman Elementary School and Kagman Head Start/Early Head Start Center.
The next situation was a “hostage and active shooter scenario” at the former Kagman Juvenile Detention Center.
This was followed by a “mass care and decontamination scenario” at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, while a “hazmat and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive or CBRNE scenario” was conducted at the former Kagman Juvenile Detention Center.
On Wednesday, the scenario was a “chlorine leak” at the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation’s storage unit in Lower Base.
Villagomez said, “The situation that’s going on, there’s a tank that’s releasing chlorine gas inside the facility, and so the CNMI hazardous response team is having two groups of personnel go into the facility to assess the leak and to find the gas leak. The other team will go in to cover the gas leak from the tank its coming from.”
For his part, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Public Information Officer Robert Mojica said, “The responders will go in with level A suits, orange suits. These suits are for training equipment, but we do have actual real-world scenario suits, if needed. They are going to be inside the facility with their full gear, Level A suits, and with what we call SB tanks. Their masks have radios connected outside to the incident command post for communication.”
Two DFEMS Hazmat response team members inspect a “leaking” chlorine tank at a CUC storage unit in Lower Base as part of the 2024 Konfitma exercises on Wednesday morning.
