State slates emergency drills today
Toolbox
By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: May 30, 2009
WATERBURY — Emergency management officials are honing their disaster response protocols during a series of drills around the state this morning.
Between 9 a.m. and noon, about 150 people — including volunteers and members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Vermont Emergency Management — will practice handing out food and water to the public at distribution points in Middlebury, Springfield, St. Johnsbury and North Hero.
Peter Coffey, deputy director for operations and logistics for Vermont Emergency Management, said today's drill is the product of two years of planning and was prompted by similar drills in gulf coast states following Hurricane Katrina. Vermont follows Rhode Island as the second New England state to practice the drills and is the first to stage drills in multiple locations, Coffey said.
Springfield prison and the Middlebury Sewage Treatment Plant are two of the 50 designated distribution sites around the state, Coffey said. These sites, along with those in St. Johnsbury and North Hero, have received tractor trailers full of food and water from FEMA, and officials and volunteers will practice unloading and sorting it.
At the same time, volunteers will also assume the roles of people looking for items and will drive up to the distribution point to receive supplies. For this drill, Coffey said, they will just drive in the circle, loading and unloading the items.
Coffey noted Vermont has seen natural disasters, including flooding, the rare hurricane and the ice storm that struck Windham County in December.
"That's the sort of disaster that could have been much worse if it affected the entire state," he said.
At the conclusion of the drill, the water will be returned to FEMA and the food — 42,000 cases of ready-to-eat meals containing beef ravioli, peanut butter and crackers — will be donated to the Vermont Foodbank.
"It's a timely donation," said Judy Stermer, director of communications for the Vermont Foodbank. "With kids getting out of school for the summer, parents are preparing 10 more meals a week for kids that had been receiving free breakfast and lunch."
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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