I attended the Maryland National Capital Region (NCR) Full Scale Haz-Mat Exercise on May 8 at the South Germantown Recreational Park in Germantown, MD.  At approx. 10 a.m. a full-scale Haz-Mat drill/exercise box was dispatched bringing a large array of fire & rescue apparatus to the scene including Haz-Mat 728 and Rescue Squad 2 (Wheaton, MD).  Two incidents took place during the drill – one was a mock IED detonation in the stadium stands injuring a large amount of attendees; the 2nd incident was a mock chemical release inside the arena building with patients complaining of various symptoms including convulsions, vomiting, and trouble breathing.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue personnel worked through both scenarios performing full decon of the patients, patient medical care and transport utilizing the MCFRS Mass Casualty units and Medical Ambulance Transport Bus.  The drills took 2 hours to complete.