Emergency Response Drills July 15-17 in St. Charles County, St. Louis Region

Residents near Orchard Farm and Portage Des Sioux in St. Charles County may notice unusual activity in the skies and on the Mississippi River during large-scale emergency response drills July 15-17.

This drill practices the response if bridges were damaged from an earthquake or other event. These operations include load-bearing helicopters flying over low-population areas to set up river crossings for vehicles and equipment on the Mississippi River.

The exercise is coordinated by a task force with the U.S. National Guard as part of regularly scheduled training, and simulates a variety of emergency situations that would require a unified response from agencies in the area. St. Charles County Regional Airport - Smartt Field is hosting components of this training related to air support.

"A paramount principle in training is to train as real-world as possible so that in the event of an actual event, personnel are well prepared and respond effectively," says St. Charles County Police Captain Curtis Sullivan. "This exercise will allow us to deploy equipment and resources while providing the opportunity to anticipate and respond to simulated emergencies as they develop."

Ground support units will also be transporting equipment and personnel in the area around Smartt Field.

"St. Charles County Police is partnering with the U.S. Army and leveraging the exercise to enhance our preparedness," Sullivan says. "In support of the exercise, we'll implement multiple Bureaus and Divisions within our agency, including Regional Emergency Management, the SWAT team, the Aerial Intelligence Drone Unit, Community Resource Division, and various others."

This is all part of a larger exercise scenario that extends to Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. The scenario simulates response to a major earthquake with mass casualties and structural concerns in the area in and around the stadium. The drills are expected to involve approximately 500 individuals in emergency response, military response, hospitals, and volunteers.

The National Guard unit leading the training, Task Force 46, is based out of Lansing, Michigan. The unit is deployed to provide command and support of military forces who join the response to catastrophic chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. This is the first time the St. Louis area has been chosen to host this type of full-scale training scenario. Last year, Task Force 46 conducted similar exercises in Nashville.

The exercises are being coordinated with STARRS, The St. Louis Area Regional Response System, which is housed within East-West Gateway Council of Governments. STARRS coordinates with emergency responders across local jurisdictions to enhance the region's capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, terrorism and large-scale industrial accidents and hazards.

Media Contact: Bryanna Hartmann, Assistant Managing Director of Communications, 636-949-1851 or 314-591-9866, [email protected]

About St. Charles County:
St. Charles County, Missouri, founded in 1812, is one of the fastest growing counties in Missouri. With a population of 405,262, it is the state's third largest county. It is home to 21 scenic county parks of which three are in reserve, encompassing 4,509 acres.

With one of the largest economies in the state, St. Charles County is home to multinational companies including General Motors, Citi, MasterCard Worldwide and Boeing. It is ranked among the top 25 counties in the nation in high-tech job growth by the Progressive Policy Institute and consistently has the lowest unemployment rate in the Metropolitan St. Louis area.

St. Charles County Government has more than 1,170 employees in more than 30 departments and offices who work to make the county an excellent place to live, work and shop. For more information, please visit sccmo.org.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.