Colorado Responder Evaluates HARM Training Course

Colorado Responder Bill Mayfield recently participated in the Hazard Assessment and Response Management (HARM) course at the Center for Domestic Preparedness, located in Anniston, Ala.

This marked the eighth CDP training course for Mayfield, and was his first opportunity to provide training input for a future CDP course. The responders who participate in the HARM pilot courses are seasoned responders from across the United States, and are exclusively selected to attend this training and evaluate the effectiveness of the course.

Mayfield has an impressive multi-disciplinary background in healthcare, firefighting, emergency management, and hazardous materials. He is a registered nurse with real-world and instructional experience who works in Colorado Springs for Memorial Health System and the Tri-Lakes Fire Protection District.

As the Emergency Response Coordinator for MHS and Firefighter Registered Nurse, he serves as a technical specialist and subject matter expert in hazardous materials and emergency management.

Mayfield also teaches a variety of CDP non-resident training—17 courses to responders in his jurisdiction during the past four years. According to Mayfield, participating in the HARM pilot course was an honor and allowed him an opportunity to leave a small footprint in the path of educating other emergency response providers to protect themselves and others.

“HARM provides an opportunity [to practice] core knowledge and skills learned in other courses at the CDP,” said Mayfield, who has more than 26 years of collective response experience. “The course allows a group of multi-disciplinary professionals to bond as a team to develop, implement, and evaluate an Incident Action Plan based on their collective knowledge and experience.”

The first HARM pilot course, offered in October 2008, requires an operational hazardous materials response to an international terrorist incident. Additional pilot courses will be offered throughout 2009, before the course is offered to all responders nationwide.

According to Rick Dickson, the CDP’s Assistant Director for Training Delivery, the overarching scenario is a national attack involving multiple sites.

“Courses are comprised of 60 responders from multiple disciplines and multiple jurisdictions with different levels of training and experience,” said Dickson. “These individuals appoint an incident
commander and determine response elements based on the number of students and response background of each person.”

The goal of the HARM course is to provide the responders with a realistic operational WMD environment in which the students determine the tempo, operate within the incident command system, and decide procedures, equipment, and tactical approach to an emergency event.

“HARM allows you to truly ‘put it all together’ with other professionals,” added Mayfield. “The dynamics of the course are ‘out of the box’, which makes you a little uncomfortable. But as an educator, I know that a slight amount of mental discomfort in the educational environment means the participant is learning,” he stressed. “When you complete your assigned mission as a team, there is a great sense of satisfaction.”

When Mayfield attended his first CDP course four years ago, he said it refueled his passion to serve. His first course was the Hazardous Materials Technician (HT) course, and Mayfield said that training provided him the skills and knowledge to lead the successful outcome of a potentially ominous incident. A local county technician who had responded to an elderly woman’s home to remove household chemicals discovered a chemical, called Chloracetophenone—an agent used in riot control tear gas. Because he was a recent graduate of the CDP’s HazMat Technician training, Mayfield was assigned as the operations section chief to supervise the disposal.

“I was advised that it could be quite unstable and potentially shock sensitive, so we made the decision to move it to a safe site and detonate it,” said Mayfield. “A tactical plan was formulated between HazMat and explosive ordnance disposal. I personally supervised the transfer of the ampoules, assisted EOD with placement, and supervised clean-up and decontamination following detonation. The CDP training I
received absolutely contributed to a positive outcome in this situation. The experience in assessing and working with real chemicals at [the CDP’s toxic agent facility] definitely reduced my stress level, which in turn helped set a calm, ‘can-do’ climate with the rest of the response team.”

Mayfield says that he’s noticed an increase in CDP course offerings since he first attended training in 2005. He commented that it’s great to see 38 courses that have value to emergency responders in all disciplines. He added that the CDP training provides practical and realistic skills, that contribute to saving lives in communities across the nation.

“The [soon-to-be 39th course] HARM training has equipped me to be more effective,” said Mayfield.

“The course will better prepare me to organize, lead, and operate in a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency hazardous response—especially if responders are needed from other parts of my state, or from across the nation.”

“This is a response experience that provides both mental and physical challenges which build individual capabilities that these students will never forget,” said Dickson. “The individual and collective skills of every student are challenged. They work hard and are must make decisions based on their training and experience.”

CDP courses range from one to four days in length and feature interdisciplinary resident and nonresident training courses that promote greater understanding among 10 diverse responder disciplines: Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, and Public Works.

The CDP is a component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparednes Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security. The Anniston training center is the nation’s only federally-chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training facility for civilian responders.

Numerous federal and non-federal training partnerships enable the CDP staff to share knowledge, ensuring the nation’s emergency response providers receive the most up-to-date training. The CDP offers responders a wide range of training available as resident, non-resident programs, and Mobile Training Teams.

Learn more about the CDP at http://cdp.dhs.gov.