Volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) of Monterey recently participated in an emergency preparedness drill at the Monterey Regional Airport. FAA regulations require that airports conduct a full-scale exercise every three years to rehearse with all the entities that would be involved in an actual emergency. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the preparedness and capabilities of the airport, its tenants and local response agencies.
CERT's role was to respond to the emergency, set up and operate a fire rehabilitation station (FRS). This is the procedure where firefighters and other respondents who, due to high heat or exhaustive work levels are ordered to such a site to remove the outer layers of equipment, wash up, re-hydrate, rest, cool off, snack and prepare to return to the operation.
At the end of the planned incident, all responding fire personnel were directed to report to the FRS. After they all went through the FRS, the incident test concluded there with the debrief (the informal "hotwash") of the incident.
