All In A Day’s Work: Shots Fired, Dangerous Chemicals

February 11, 2014

Shots rang out at Escambia County deputies in Walnut Hill Monday as a hazardous materials team worked to neutralize dangerous chemicals found in a vehicle.  It was all a drill, part of a multi-agency exercise designed to train responders prior to a real life incident.

For security reasons, we can’t report the exact location in Walnut Hill, other than to say it was on private property, and we can’t share many photos. But we can tell you that real life scenario training is considered invaluable.

“It gave us an opportunity to train for a real scenario that we might have to go through one  day,” said Sgt. Andrew Hobbs of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office was joined by representatives from Escambia Fire Rescue, the Florida Department of Health Escambia County and Escambia County Emergency Management.  The exercise ran through an incident command, giving the different agencies a chance to work together in managing a hazardous materials incident.

Escambia  County Sheriff’s Office Rapid Response Unit cleans up and disposes of methamphetamine labs and other hazardous materials for the Sheriff’s Office, saving both valuable time and money as opposed to using an outside agency.

The deputies of the Rapid Response Unit had more than dangerous chemicals to deal with during Monday’s scenario….they also came under fire from an active shooter.

“It’s a very difficult situation to be in a chemical suit with limited visibility and breathing on an air tank  while being shot at,” Hobb said. “It’s intense.”

Pictured top: A member of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Rapid Response Unit during training scenario in Walnut Hill Monday. Pictured inset and below: The Rapid Response Unit at work in Century and Bratt. In the photo below, a suspected “one pot” meth lab bursts into flames as it is being neutralized. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “All In A Day’s Work: Shots Fired, Dangerous Chemicals”

  1. Robert S. on February 11th, 2014 8:59 am

    THANK YOU to all First Responders and to the County Road Crews and to the Gulf Power workers and others who put themselves on the line for the public safety.
    Each of you is to be commended for your work every day and especially in times of emergency.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News