This Friday, March 18 photo shows an Air Force C-17 at Juneau International Airport as it ferried gear to Juneau for a hazardous materials exercise with the city and other organizations. (David Rigas / Juneau Empire)

This Friday, March 18 photo shows an Air Force C-17 at Juneau International Airport as it ferried gear to Juneau for a hazardous materials exercise with the city and other organizations. (David Rigas / Juneau Empire)

City and military hold hazardous material exercise

The exercise will test the city’s response to a hazmat emergency.

Juneau residents may witness military and emergency personnel carrying out a multi-day hazardous materials exercise running through Wednesday evening.

Residents should not be concerned, said Assistant Chief Ed Quinto of Capital City Fire/Rescue.

“Military is here. The FBI is here. The Coast Guard is playing, the police and the fire department are playing,” Quinto said in a phone interview. “The fire department will be there with our fire trucks, ambulances and equipment. But we will continue to operate as a fire department.”

[Military wraps up major cold-weather exercise]

The exercise is unrelated to Arctic Edge 2022, which had participating units operating in Juneau and was focused on defense of the homeland. The current exercise is designed to reinforce training to deal with hazardous material emergencies, according to the City and Borough of Juneau.

Military personnel from around the country began arriving over the weekend in military transport aircraft, Quinto said. Personnel are coming from the Lower 48 to participate in the exercise. During the course of the exercise, residents may see military and city personnel in hazmat suits taking part in the simulations.

“It’s mostly geared toward how to handle hazardous material. We’re part of the statewide 104 teams,” Quinto said. “They want to practice our teams in dealing with hazmat. For big incidents we can’t handle, we call in the military or the civil support teams.”

The exercise will test both the city’s teams, as well as how the lines of communication work for larger hazmat incidents. The Juneau International Airport, CCFR’s Hagevig Fire Training Center, and other locations will be used for the simulations, Quinto said.

“There will be multiple venues,” Quinto said. “They were setting things up for the scenario all week.”

CCFR’s hazmat team, as well as the department at large, will participate in the exercises, as well as simulating scaling up the size of the response and involving the National Guard’s civil support teams and the FBI.

“Some of the scenarios, we’ll be using our sensors or gearing up in our personnel protective equipment and putting our policies into play,” Quinto said. “We want to make sure we identify the weaknesses in our team so we can improve them further on.”

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

More in News

(Juneau Empire File)
Aurora forecast for the week of Nov. 27

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Girls teams face off on the twin courts of the main gym at Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School during the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza on Oct. 15, 2022. The Juneau Board of Education on Friday unanimously voted to seek advice from outside council on a new state policy banning transgender girls from high school sports teams. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
School board unanimously votes to seek outside legal advice on new statewide transgender sports ban

Juneau reportedly first district to take step that may lead to lawsuit challenging policy.

A Capital City Fire/Rescue truck parks outside the main entrance of the Riverview Senior Living complex Monday after Nathan Bishop, 58, is found alive in the attic 40 hours after being reported missing from the facility where he is a resident. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
State reviewing Riverview Senior Living after missing resident found in attic 40 hours later

Officials unaware of similar cases in Alaska; facility says steps to prevent such incidents underway

Search and rescue officials examine the area about 11 miles south of the center of Wrangell where a landslide occurred on Nov. 20. Five people are confirmed dead from the landslide and one still missing. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Public Safety)
Body of fifth Wrangell landslide victim found; one person still missing

Otto Florschutz, 65, found Thursday evening; Derek Heller, 12, still missing among family of five.

Varieties of kelp are seen underwater. A U.S. Department of Energy-funded project will investigate whether kelp and other seaweed in the waters off Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island can absorb significant amounts of rare earth elements that leach out from the Bokan Mountain site. (National Marine Sanctuary photo provided by NOAA)
Federally funded project will search for rare earth elements in Southeast Alaska seaweed

What if prized rare earth elements could be extracted from seaweed, avoiding… Continue reading

Angie Flick (center), finance director for the City and Borough of Juneau, provides details of an early draft of next year’s municipal budget to Assembly members as City Manager Katie Koester (left) and Budget Manager Adrien Wendel listen during a Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night in the Assembly Chambers. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Assembly members prepare to retreat so they can move ahead on next year’s budget

“Very draft” $190 million spending plan for FY25 based on status quo has $1 million deficit.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 30, 2005. (Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Dec. 3

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Cheyenne Latu (left), a pharmacy technician at Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe, and business co-owner Gretchen Watts hang a poster at the front counter Thursday announcing the store’s closure after Dec. 6 as Jessica Kirtley, another pharmacy technician, works at the front register. The nearby Safeway supermarket has agreed to take the prescriptions of all customers as well as hire all of the independent pharmacy’s employees, according to the co-owners who are retiring. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe closing after nearly 50 years as co-owners retire; last day is Dec. 6

Safeway taking over all prescriptions and offering jobs to all employees, according to owners.

Most Read