Emergency responders tested with “fuel spill” Published Oct. 27, 2008 By Corey Dahl 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Peterson's emergency responders can't say they got off easy during the wing's latest exercise. Faced with one of the most complex scenarios of the exercise, crews had to respond Oct. 21 to a mock crash involving a car and a diesel fuel truck. Inside the car, a trapped and injured "victim." Outside the car, her belligerent boyfriend and 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel, spilling into the base's water supply. The mock scenario was one of the most elaborate during the 21st Space Wing's week-long Condor Crest exercise, a quarterly event that tests the base's capabilities. Designed by Dave Reynolds, the fire department's assistant chief of training, the "crisis" was meant to force the base's emergency responders to deal with multiple challenges at the same time. "Anytime you have an emergency response, there's going to be chaos," Mr. Reynolds said of the complex scenario. "It's the job of these emergency responders to restore things to order in a safe manner. This is very much something that could happen in real life." The fire department worked quickly with the 21st Security Forces Squadron to secure the area. They then had to rescue the victim while containing and cleaning up the diesel spill with the help of the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron and the base's bio-environmental unit. "Chief Reynolds ensured we were challenged by injecting a life safety hazard into a continuous fuel flow scenario," said Craig Powell, the fire department's incident commander during the scenario. "This drove the need for immediate rescue operations, which were complicated by a volatile environment." The crews worked quickly, though. In a short period of time, they were able to safely extract the victim from the vehicle and begin treatment and also identified the fuel spill and contained it. Overall, the scenario was a success, Mr. Powell said. "I was totally impressed by the enthusiastic response from all agencies," he said. Mr. Reynolds agreed, saying he's confident the base's emergency responders could handle a similar real-world challenge. "Absolutely, I think we could handle this in a real-life situation," he said. "I have no doubt whatsoever."