COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES CONDUCT COMMUNICATIONS EXERCISES

On Tuesday May 1, 2012 county and state highway emergency services participated in a Communications Rally and Exercise at Winter Place Park in Wicomico County.

The purpose of the exercise was to bring together communications units, government agencies, allied agencies and personnel required to act during All-Hazard Responses on the Delmarva Peninsula. An All-Hazard emergency operations plan reflects what will be done to protect the community with the resources it has or can obtain.

Wicomico County Director of Emergency Services David Shipley commented, “An exercise like this is a prime example of the coordination and work it takes to mount an emergency response and how well the emergency services personnel on the Lower Shore work in partnership for the safety of their citizens.”

The primary goal of the exercise was to allow the agencies to operate through basic scenarios to demonstrate and practice interoperability of their equipment in a training atmosphere. These exercises also provide an opportunity to discuss and address any issues that could arise during an actual event.

Agencies and personnel were able to share information and experiences through networking. The various communications vehicles and resources that can be called upon to provide interoperability during an emergency were involved in the exercise. Those participating agencies included:

Wicomico County Department of Emergency Services and their mobile command post.
Ocean City Office of Emergency Management and their mobile command unit.
Worcester County Emergency Services and their special operations trailer.
Sussex County Emergency Operations Center and their incident command vehicle.
Maryland State Highway Administration with their emergency evacuation unit and traffic vehicles.