On Tuesday, Mar. 10, Jasper County Emergency Management hosted a Disaster Task Force Functional Exercise at DMACC Newton.  The event was held in preparation for a live training event that will take place at Co-Line this June and was based on a scenario that could happen at Co-Line. Responders from five counties came together to train on a coordinated response to an active threat incident, working through the full chain of response from the 911 call to hospital transport. The focus was on the Active Attack Integrated Response (AAIR) model, including command coordination, Rescue Task Force operations, casualty collection points, and interagency communication. Exercises like this allow responders to stress test plans, identify gaps, and strengthen coordination before a real emergency ever happens. When the call comes in, officials do not get the luxury of figuring things out in the moment. Training like this ensures they are ready.

According to Jasper County Chief Deputy Duane Rozendaal, “This tabletop exercise was practice training for a violent encounter at a local business in Jasper and Mahaska Counties. This exercise was attended by 70-plus individuals from Mahaska, Poweshiek, Iowa, Marion, and Jasper Counties. This type of exercise is very beneficial to making this event go as well as it can. Being able to work face to face provides areas that need to be improved upon or ways that worked well.” Participants that took part in the exercise represented law enforcement, fire, EMS, hospitals, emergency management, dispatch centers, and volunteer organizations from across the region. Also participating in the training from Co-Line  were Eric Brand, Justin De Jong also representing Sully EMS, and  Mark Van Wyk also representing Lynnville Fire Department.

“A huge thank you to Co-Line Manufacturing for allowing us to practice with their facility, DMACC Newton for hosting, and to every responder who took the time to train today. Your willingness to prepare and work together is what keeps our communities safe. Today was a big step forward as we continue preparing for the full-scale exercise later this year,” said Jamey Robinson, EMA Director.

When Co-Line was approached to host this exercise due to the location, company size, and other factors, Eric Brand accepted. Attending the practice training gave him a new perspective.  “It was a very eye-opening experience to observe officials and volunteers from five counties participate in this functional exercise event,” said Eric. “While we hope that this type of scenario never occurs at Co-Line or anywhere else, we are honored to host the actual training event later this year and for them to use the Co-Line buildings and people to practice with. These people are the men and women of the local counties and organizations who quietly serve us all in our times of need, and we are thankful for all they do. They came together with their many different organizations - from 911 dispatch to the hospital and everyone in between - to practice for an event such as this and then took the time to review what went right and what opportunities there are for improvement based on this practice event. We are already working on things we can do better at Co-Line from this learning experience.”

Agencies represented  included:

Jasper County EMA

Marion County Emergency Management Agency

Poweshiek County Emergency Management Agency

Mahaska County Emergency Management

Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)

Jasper County Dispatch

Mahaska County 911 Communications

Poweshiek County Dispatch

Iowa County Dispatch

Marion County Dispatch

Law Enforcement

Jasper County Sheriff's Office

Marion County Sheriff's Office

Mahaska County Sheriff's Office

Iowa County Sheriff

Newton Police Department

Pella Police Department

Grinnell Police Department

Fire and EMS

Newton Fire Department

Knoxville Fire Department

Baxter Rural Fire Department

Monroe Fire Department

Sully Fire and Ambulance

Lynnville Emergency Services and Fire Department

Pella Community Ambulance

Pella Fire Department

Prairie City Ambulance Department

Mahaska Health Ambulance

Montezuma Fire & Rescue

Poweshiek Ambulance

Healthcare Partners

MercyOne Newton Medical Center

UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center

Pella Regional Health Center

Volunteer and Support Partners

Jasper County CERT

Regional crisis negotiation and behavioral health partners

Crisis K9-Maverick

Crisis Canines of the Midlands

River, Crisis Response K9

Walter-n-Daisy-Crisis

Nova (Crisis K9)