State, local first responders practice nuclear detonation scenario in Atlanta
The full-scale operation, known as Vista Forge, gave first responders a chance to practice for if a nuclear disaster were to ever happen in Fulton County
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Hundreds of first responders participated in a post-nuclear attack simulation in the parking lot of Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta Thursday.
40 military, state and local agencies were involved in the massive operation that included more than 600 participants. The full-scale operation, known as Vista Forge, gave first responders a chance to practice for if a nuclear disaster were to ever happen in Fulton County, more specifically the City of Atlanta.
“Everybody who’s in the fallout has a very high chance of survival,” Chayne Sparagowski with the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. “They just have to shelter in place. This simulation is the point when the shelter-in-place has been lifted.
Teams conducted chemical decontamination drills and medical evacuation training, using volunteers to perform washdowns to triage and find survivors resources to move forward.
“This type of exercise really tests our integration between our military, Department of Defense, federal, state, and local agencies,” Sparagowski said. “This gives us the ability to really respond to any situation, whether it’s a national disaster that occurs and we need to bring in some of these folks or something worse like a chemical, radiological, nuclear event.”
The training, two years in the making, was the first time all the agencies involved had practiced such a scenario together in the same location. For volunteers, like emergency management student Miyoshi Bolten, it’s hands-on training she can’t get anywhere else.
“It’s understanding in a real emergency what to do,” Bolten said. “We should never wait until the emergency happens before we try to decide what we’re going to do. We should prepare for it.”
The training in Atlanta was the first in a series of full-scale exercises, coordinated by the Department of Defense, planned for cities across the U.S.
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