Langley CES show their skills during fuel spill exercise

by Senior Airman Brittany Paerschke-O'Brien
633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

3/7/2013 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- A bulk tank holding 500,000 gallons of fuel collapses, releasing more than 400,000 gallons over the northeast corner of the base. While the emergency response teams arrive on scene, fuel creeps dangerously close to the water's edge with every passing minute.

Fortunately, this extreme situation was only part of a fuel spill exercise at Langley Air Force Base,Va., Feb. 28. Exercises such as this help prepare first-responders in the event a real-world situation like this occurs.

The exercise began with a fuel-farm tank operator identifying the situation, evacuating the building and shutting down the electricity to the area around the spill. From there, firefighters and security forces were notified of the emergency and began arriving on scene to perform necessary containment procedures. For some of these responders, this is a time where training finally kicks in.

"I was a little nervous; my blood started flowing a little quicker," said Michael Mallozzi, 633rd Civil Engineering Squadron environmental quality assurance manager. "But as long as you know exactly what to do and you are prepared, the nerves go away. That's why we do things like this; so we are not scrambling trying to figure out what to do."

Once on scene, the incident commander set up a control center to map the area involving the spill. Meanwhile, security forces personnel established barriers and directed traffic to prevent congestion around the contaminated area.

The reaction of the emergency response team is critical to keep everyone safe because a situation like this actually could happen, said Mallozzi. Responders must be prepared and well-trained on procedures for a spill of this size in order to contain it before it reaches the water, due to its potential to reach the public, causing serious injury, he said.

Mallozzi also said that facilities that contain potential pollutants, such as the tank farm, must have mandatory spill and emergency plans so occupants can familiarize themselves and actively participate in the training.

"It's important to get this practice so if this incident does actually happen, we are not taken by surprise," said Airman 1st Class Jeremy Burnett, 633rd Civil Engineering Squadron firefighter. "The more exercises we do, the more we can be prepared for a real-life incident."

As the first-responders left the scene one-by-one, they could rest assured had this been a real-world situation, they would have taken appropriate steps to contain the spill and prevent further contamination.