FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
CONTACT: Brenda S. Fischer, Director of General Service and Communications
PHONE: (702) 633-1556
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2009
The City of North Las Vegas will conduct a full-scale emergency management exercise on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at U.S. Foodservice, 1685 W. Cheyenne Ave. The training begins at noon and continues until about 4 p.m.
The purpose of the exercise is to train participants for response to an emergency involving mass casualties due to a chemical release resulting from an earthquake. The exercise fulfills federal training requirements and helps the City obtain grants from the Department of Homeland Security.
Exercise participants include City of North Las Vegas departments, such as police, fire and utilities. Community partners in the exercise include U.S. Foodservice, North Vista Hospital, Medic West, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas Fire, Clark County Fire, Clark County Coroner’s Office, Southern Nevada Health District, American Red Cross, the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission, the Salvation Army, Clark County School District, NV Energy, ARES/RACES, Citizens Emergency Response Teams and the Volunteer Homeland Reserve Unit.
The scenario will involve an earthquake-triggered breach of the company’s ammonia storage system that requires activation of the City’s Emergency Operation Center, victim decontamination and evacuations.
Theatrical smoke may be seen billowing from the site and emergency vehicles will be present. Radio scanners may intercept messages about the exercise that sound authentic – these are part of the exercise.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY
During the exercise, one eastbound lane along Cheyenne Avenue will be closed from Clayton Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard, and one southbound lane of Martin Luther King will be closed from Cheyenne to Brooks Avenue. Brooks will be closed from Martin Luther King to Clayton. The media staging area will be near the southeast corner of the U.S. Foodservice campus, near the Martin Luther King Road entrance. Media is encouraged to arrive by 11:30 a.m.
For more information, call North Las Vegas Fire Captain Cedric Williams
(702) 633-1111.