Search and Rescue—in a Hazmat Suit

If disaster strikes the Sherman Oaks area, residents will rely, in part, on the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team at Fire Station 88 on Sepulveda Boulevard.

The team, a local division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), trained Friday morning in rescuing survivors in the event of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. This time, the team's earthquake scenario had a hypothetical new twist: low-dose radiation escaping from a crushed cancer research center, with several survivors trapped inside. 

“We want to see how we would still effect the rescue and decontaminate our people so that they will still be safe when it is over,” said fire Capt. Rick Godinez.

The massive March 11 earthquake in Japan and resulting radioactive danger has highlighted the need for FEMA to prepare for a rescue operation in a radioactive environment. This Los Angeles FEMA division is the first to train for the possibility of a radiation hazard.

“Actually, I had this plan prior to Japan,” says Battalion Chief Jack Wise, whose division oversees the Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue. “We’ve had this plan for more than six months. It’s really something no one else has done, practiced it yet. We’re trying to develop protocols and training and find out what we can and can’t do in these types of scenarios.”

Friday's press demonstration and exercise took place at the department’s Sepulveda Boulevard training facility. “This is kind of like their disaster village,” said Battalion Chief Ronnie Villanueva as he looked over a realistic-looking set that included a derailed Metroliner, parts of a collapsed freeway and a crushed car. 

Since the team was practicing search-and-rescue in a hazardous-materials environment, they donned hazmat suits and tested for radioactive readings. The plastic suits and breathing gear were especially cumbersome as the temperature approached 80 degrees and the men were forced to crawl through small concrete spaces to "rescue" several would-be victims trapped inside. Searching can involve cutting through concrete, a dangerous process.

The rescue team used a highly sensitive listening device to detect the sound of a victim scratching faintly on a wall. A high-powered drill cut through a hole big enough for a small camera, and a canine team searched for survivors.  

One of the most important parts of the exercise is the end-of-day review.

“They’ll get together and they’ll talk about lessons learned, things that they need to work on, things that they don’t have to work on,” Villaneuva said.

The team has more than 200 certified members. When called, they typically head out with 80 members, including rescue specialists, doctors, heavy-rigging specialists, and canine and hazmat teams.

Godinez said he hoped Friday's training would provide Sherman Oaks residents with added assurance, should disaster strike. 

“We’re here to train,” he said. “We’re here to prepare ourselves when we go out the door, and we’re ready for any response,”  he said.