VICTORIA, Va. –
Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the Fort Barfoot-based 34th Civil Support Team joined first responders from across the region for a mass casualty incident response course exercise Oct. 19, 2024, at Central High School in Victoria, Virginia.
The mass casualty incident response course, led by Chris Craft, a Fort Barfoot Fire and Emergency Services firefighter and medic, as well as volunteer with the Victoria Fire and Rescue, helps teach the basics of mass casualty incident response, which includes teaching about response resources available, which includes the CST.
During the exercise, the CST showcased their capabilities during a mock meth lab incident set at Central High School. Members of the CST’s survey team donned protective suits and entered the school to locate and identify the hazard, as well as collect samples for analysis.
While the CST routinely trains with state and federal partners, supporting smaller localities with their training was a unique experience for the team, according to Lt. Col. Thomas Mecadon, commander of the 34th CST.
“Usually, we train with larger agencies, both state and federal, focused on a larger response or incident," said Mecadon. "This event not only allowed us to establish contacts within our local community but operate on a smaller scale tailored to the event and request supporting the Fort Barfoot Fire Department with Mass Casualty Incident training.”
Craft said the training is vital for the area’s first responders, because a major incident can happen anywhere, even in a small community like Victoria.
“The thought process is we practice and train for the worst, and when it doesn’t happen, we’ve had a good day,” Craft said. “The program works with first responders to show them how to handle a mass casualty situation.”
While support must be requested through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management by the localities, the CST stands ready to support and advise during mass casualty incidents.
“The opportunity to interact with our smaller local regional partners in the vicinity of Fort Barfoot, Virginia, is beneficial in establishing initial relationships,” Mecadon said. “These connections allow the smaller jurisdictions to know that a hazmat capability is in the vicinity of their community and can support them upon request.”
“Once I found out there’s a regional hazmat team deployable through VDEM, and the proximity of Fort Barfoot to Lunenberg, Mecklenburg and Brunswick Counties, I thought it would be good to network the CST with local first responders,” Craft added.
Localities participating in the training included Southside Rescue Squad, Kenbridge Volunteer Fire Department, Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office, Blackstone Volunteer Fire Department, the Nottoway County Emergency Squad and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Also on hand to observe training were Virginia Sen. Tammy Mulchi and Virginia Del. Tommy Wright, as well as representatives from Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.
While the course was geared to the smaller localities in attendance, the CST also benefitted from supporting the exercise, even though it was the team’s first time supporting such a course.
“Over the past year we have focused on establishing a better relationship with our partners here on Fort Barfoot,” said Mecadon. “This focus has opened training opportunities both for the team and individually, to increase our proficiency in each aspect of our mission.”
The 34th CST is divided into six sections: command, operations, communications, administration/logistics, medical/analytical and survey. Each team member completes between 500 and 900 hours of specialized training during their first year of assignment and continues advanced training throughout their tenure with multiple agencies including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the National Fire Academy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The team’s primary response area includes a 300-mile radius from its home station at Fort Barfoot and stretches as far north as Pennsylvania and as far south as South Carolina. They maintain personnel on standby at all times, can deploy an advance team within 90 minutes of notification and the main body deploys within three hours.
The unit’s assigned transportation includes a command vehicle, operations trailer, a communications vehicle called the unified command suite which provides a broad spectrum of secure communications capabilities, an analytical laboratory system vehicle containing a full suite of analysis equipment to support the complete characterization of an unknown hazard and several general purpose vehicles. The CST normally deploys using its assigned vehicles, but it can be airlifted as required.
Read more about the CST at https://vngpao.info/34thCST.