By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (January 23, 2025) — They are so common most people don’t even notice them on the rail and roadways — tankers— but what if one is leaking dangerous liquid or is flipped on its side, spilling chemicals? Those are the hazardous material situations the new Multi-hazard Hazmat Trainer at the 1st Lt. Joseph Terry First Responder Training Facility is designed to teach students to respond to.

The Multi-hazard Hazmat Trainer looks like a section of a tanker trailer, complete with the manhole, valves and vents students would see on a real tanker. The trainer also has different kinds of holes sliced into the sides to simulate the kinds of punctures first responders may see in a real-world hazmat situation.

“The Multi-hazard Hazmat Trainer provides us with several different options to teach about hazmat mitigation,” said Eric Fikes, Incident Response Training Department supervisor training specialist. “For this course, we primarily use the pressure tank car, and the tractor trailer options on the trainer.”

He is referring to the Homeland Defense Civil Support Office’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Enterprise, or CRE, Responder Advanced Course for active-duty service members, Reserve, National Guard and civilians who have jobs related to CRE technical support forces.

Fikes said the new training device is being introduced on day six of the seven-day course.

“The course includes training on a variety of military and commercial CBRN equipment, and familiarization on personal protective equipment, respiratory protection, emergency response, powered air-purifying respirators and self-contained breathing apparatus,” Fikes said. “As well as, planning and preparing for domestic reconnaissance operations, the fundamentals of toxic industrial chemicals, sampling and collection procedures, mission abort procedures, and the procedures to set-up, process through and close out a survey team decontamination site.”

Dan Arden, Homeland Defense Civil Support Office Incident Response Training Department chief, said there are some things that can’t be taught with computer-based training alone, and he is excited to have the new Multi-hazard Hazmat Trainer at his facility.

“Adding the trainer provides an opportunity for students to operate in a safe real-world scenario using the same equipment that they would use in a response. This type of training is cutting edge combined with lecture, practical exercises and computer-based training,” Arden said. “This trainer enhances student capability by providing practical exercise and hands-on training that provides the necessary motor skills and critical thinking tasks that make them an effective CRE response member.”

Sgt. John Cooke, a CBRN specialist with the 59th Chemical Company in Fort Drum, New York, was one of the first students to use the new trainer.

“Trying to stop the water from spraying out was interesting. It isn’t real-world, but it feels like real-world. Training like this will help take my initial entry team skills to the next level,” Cooke said. “We train as we fight, and I think this is as close as you can get to the real thing. I feel fortunate to be in the first class to get to use it.”

Cooke’s class was using the trainer to fix leaks on a tractor trailer, but Fikes said the trainer can also be used, “to teach students how to maneuver in confined spaces, fix pressure and non-pressure dome leaks and simulate a roll-over.”

The Multi-Hazard Hazmat Trainer doesn’t just simulate a tanker truck, according to Arden, it also simulates a rail car, dome tanker and chlorine tank.

“It combines elements of each of these in a single training exercise station,” Arden said.

Multi-hazard, real-world simulated training is critical, according to Arden because it helps, “the Homeland Defense Civil Support Office continue to improve training to ensure our CRE and civil support team members can respond with an enhanced capability immediately to a crisis upon completion of training.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 80 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains nearly 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.

More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to leaving the course with the ability to respond to multi-hazard hazmat situations, CRE Responder Advanced course students who successfully complete the course earn certification to the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress CRE Responder Advanced level of training.