Massive terror exercise planned for metro area | News

Operation Mountain Guardian is a terrorism-based, full-scale emergency exercise scheduled to take place in numerous locations in the Denver metro area on Friday, September 23, 2011. 

The exercise will involve first responders from 81 different agencies**, will be conducted at ten separate locations and will include loud noises, simulated weapons, smoke, emergency vehicles and other equipment that will be audible and visible throughout the day.

 

The purpose of this advisory is to provide information that can be disseminated to the public ahead of time to avoid confusion or concern on exercise day, as well as to invite media coverage of the event.

 

• Operation Mountain Guardian will be held at the following locations throughout the Denver Metropolitan area:

Primary Locations

 

1. Park Meadows Mall
2. Smedley Elementary School
3. Denver Union Station
4. Community College of Aurora (Lowry Campus)

 

 

Secondary Locations

 

1. Denver International Airport
2. Sky Ridge Medical Center
3. Denver Health Medical Center
4. University of Colorado Hospital
5. Catholic Charities (NW Denver)
6. Sports Authority Field at Mile High

 

• A Public Information Officer will be available at each primary location to coordinate safe access for media representatives and provide information.  A Denver Joint Information Center PIO will also be available at 720-865-7695.
  • MEDIA: Please contact the Joint Information Center or on site PIO for inquiries related to this exercise (not individual agencies). Media inquiries not associated with this event should continue to be directed to the appropriate agency.

 

• The exercise has been designed as a learning event for regional first responders to test their capabilities in a scenario that will involve a terrorist-driven catastrophic situation.  Exercise play will occur at the four primary sites and DIA. Catholic Charities and Sports Authority Field at Mile High will participate in an administrative fashion to test student/teacher processing activities. Sky Ridge Medical Center, Denver Health Medical Center, and University of Colorado Hospital will participate for the purpose of testing medical surge capabilities and communicating within Incident Command.

 

• The exercise is scheduled to begin at 0500 hours and end by 1630 hours.

NEWS ADVISORY: Operation Mountain Guardian (continued)

 

 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

 

• Operation Mountain Guardian is a terrorism-based full-scale exercise sponsored by the North Central All-Hazards Emergency Management Region, Denver Urban Area Security Initiative, and Front Range Metropolitan Medical Response System.  The exercise is a Homeland Security Grant funded event made possible due to grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA Region VIII and the State of Colorado Governor’s Office of Homeland Security.

 

• The North Central All-Hazards Emergency Management Region is one of nine emergency preparedness and response Regions within the State of Colorado.  The North Central Region (NCR) is organized around ten counties:  Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin and Jefferson.

 

• One purpose of the NCR is to improve Region-wide emergency preparedness, response and homeland security capabilities through coordinated planning, training and exercise efforts.  This exercise is evidence of the growing public safety partnership between regional emergency response agencies.

 

• Operation Mountain Guardian is part of a Regional Training and Exercise Plan established in 2009.  Planning for Operation Mountain Guardian began in January 2010 and has included several building-block events designed to prepare responders to effectively participate in the full-scale exercise. 

 

• The overall Operation Mountain Guardian exercise objectives are:

 

1. Communications: Assess the ability to establish and maintain multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional communications in response to a terrorism incident.

 

2. Hazmat Response and Decontamination: Evaluate the capability to coordinate multiple hazmat response teams and assess their ability to perform initial response actions.

 

3. Public Safety & Security Response: Evaluate the ability to establish scene security and crime scene preservation, coordinate a multi-jurisdictional response, and manage intelligence information in order to mitigate the effects of the event.

 

4. Explosive Device Response Operations: Evaluate the capability to manage and coordinate explosive device response operations using regional bomb squad teams.

 

5. Onsite Incident Management: Evaluate the ability to implement the Incident Command System (ICS) and establish multi-jurisdictional command and control.

 

6. Triage and Pre-Hospital Treatment: Examine the ability of EMS to provide effective pre-hospital emergency medical care in response to a terrorism incident.

 

7. Medical Surge: Evaluate medical surge capability at area hospitals.

 

• While Operation Mountain Guardian is primarily a Homeland Security Grant funded exercise, the event will also rely heavily on local government emergency response agencies, military organizations, volunteer organizations as well as local charitable organizations.

 

 

**The following agencies are expected to participate:

 

 

1

84th Civil Support Team

51

Golden Police Department

2

Action Care

52

Greenwood Village Police Department

3

Adams County Office of Emergency Management

53

Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management

4

Adams County Sheriff’s Office

54

Jefferson County Public Health

5

Adcom 911

55

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

6

American Medical Response

56

Lafayette Fire Dept

7

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office

57

Lakewood Police Department

8

Arvada Fire Department

58

Larkspur Fire Department

9

Arvada Police Department

59

Littleton Fire Department

10

Aurora Fire Department

60

Littleton Police Department

11

Aurora MMRS

61

Lone Tree Police Department

12

Aurora Office of Emergency Management

62

Longmont Fire

13

Aurora Police Department

63

Longmont Police Department

14

Aurora Public Safety Communications

64

Louisville Fire Department

15

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office

65

Louisville Police Department

16

Boulder Fire Department

66

Metropolitan Area Communications Center

17

Boulder Police Department

67

Mountain View Fire Dept

18

Brighton Fire Protection District

68

National Disaster Medical System

19

Brighton Police Department

69

North Central Region

20

Broomfield Police Department

70

North Metro Fire Rescue District

21

Buckley AFB Fire Department

71

North Washington Fire

22

Castle Rock Fire Department

72

Northglenn Ambulance

23

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

73

Northglenn Police Department

24

Colorado Division of Emergency Management

74

Office of Bombing Prevention

25

Colorado Information Analysis Center

75

Park Meadows Mall

26

Colorado Office of Information Technology

76

Parker Police Department

27

Community College of Aurora

77

Platte Valley Medical Center

28

Cunningham Fire Protection District

78

Porter Adventist Hospital

29

Denver 911

79

Presbyterian St. Luke’s  Hospital

30

Denver Electronic Engineering Bureau

80

Regional Transportation District

31

Denver Fire Department

81

Rural Metro Ambulance

32

Denver Health & Hospital Authority

82

Sable Altura Fire Department

33

Denver Health Paramedic Division

83

Salvation Army

34

Denver International Airport

84

Sheridan Police Department

35

Denver MMRS

85

Sky Ridge Medical Center

36

Denver Office of Emergency Management

86

South Adams County Fire

37

Denver Parks & Recreation

87

South Metro Fire Rescue Authority

38

Denver Police Department

88

St. Anthony’s Hospital

39

Denver Public Schools

89

St. Anthony Summit Medical Center

40

Denver Sheriff’s Department

90

St. Joseph Hospital

41

Denver UASI

91

Swedish Medical Center

42

Douglas County Office of Emergency Management

92

Thornton Fire Department

43

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

93

Thornton Police Department

44

Englewood Fire

94

Tri-County Health Department

45

Englewood Police Department

95

University of Colorado Hospital

46

Environmental Protection Agency

96

VA Hospital

47

Fairmount Fire

97

West Metro Fire Department

48

Federal Bureau of Investigation

98

Western Ambulance

49

Federal Protective Service

99

Westminster Police Department

50

Franktown Fire Department

100

Wheat Ridge Fire Department

 

 

101

Wheat Ridge Police Department

Press Release