Exercise tests international rescue effort

Wednesday morning, September 13, a "collision" between two boats on Passamaquoddy Bay resulted in a massive search and rescue effort, involving over 150 people from the Canadian and U.S. coast guards, the RCMP, local police, fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from both countries, as well as hospitals in Maine and New Brunswick. By 2 p.m., the operation had been successfully concluded, with no fatalities and no injuries. The exercise was the largest international disaster practice in the memories of participants, and it was deemed by all a success.

Members of various organizations charged with search and rescue and disaster relief routinely work together, across local, state, even national boundaries. This exercise, months in the planning, was aimed specifically to practice cooperation between U.S. and Canadian coast guard units and with local authorities. The emphasis was on coordination and communications between the disparate groups in the event of a real emergency. Bases and personnel from as far away as Halifax and Boston were involved in this practice exercise.

The scenario began when a whale-watch boat with 18 people on board reported it had struck a pleasure boat. The whale-watch boat was disabled and drifting; the smaller boat had overturned, trapping one passenger. The Eastport Coast Guard station launched its 41-foot utility boat and headed to the scene. At the same time, the Canadian Coast Guard launched a CH-149 Cormorant rescue helicopter and a CC-130 Hercules plane from Halifax. Within 20 minutes of the report, local first responder medical personnel had arrived at a boat landing in Robbinston and spotted a boat with survivors in the water.

By noon, the U.S. Coast Guard boat from Eastport had arrived at the crash site, and shortly thereafter, the Hercules aircraft arrived. About the same time, EMS and firefighters arrived on the dock in St. Andrews, prepared to received injured victims. The boat from Eastport, manned by its regular crew and additional personnel from the station's 25-foot response boat, were performing triage on the victims and preparing to transport them to medical facilities via the Robbinston and St. Andrews landings. Soon the Cormorant helicopter was on scene, providing an "eye in the sky" as well as further rescue capabilities. Almost exactly two hours after the first alarm came in, all of the victims had been rescued from the boats, and those in need of further medical attention were en route to Calais Regional Hospital.

Near the end of the training mission, personnel working in the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England headquarters in Portland had to hurriedly move their operations to another section of the building. According to Lt. Commander Benjamin Benson, located at Operations Center Boston, "A real search and rescue effort, involving a fishing boat in distress, did affect the exercise." The commander said that it was felt necessary to relocate the group in Portland, even if it was a detriment to the practice exercise. "It would have been a disgrace if we allowed a real-life rescue to be impacted by this exercise." In the end, it did not affect the practice event, but did inject an unplanned note into the proceedings.

At a debriefing of those involved, observers who had been aboard the rescue craft and at the landing areas praised those involved for the smooth, capable response in a very complex, multi-agency effort. As in any operation of this size, there were minor issues that cropped up, but generally all involved felt that the level of communication and the ability to smoothly mesh so many different agencies into a cohesive, effective and timely response was very encouraging.

Commander Wyman Briggs with the U.S. Coast Guard said that, for everyone involved, this exercise helped to cement the "working partnership. Both services [U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard] respond to any request for help. We go as far as we are needed and provide any assistance that is requested." He said the operation allowed all personnel to "learn some lessons about communications. There could be challenges, especially in that area, whether from different terminology or from the fact that we each work with different communications centers. This [operation] provided many benefits C we developed relationships with those we may be working with in the future, we effectively worked together and shared resources, we became more familiar in general."

Keith Mitchell of Nova Scotia's Squadron 43 Volunteer Fire Communication Department found some lessons learned as well. "We got to watch and learn from each other, and working together today left all of us feeling more comfortable if we are on a true emergency in future. We tend to be more diversified in our approach. We have men trained to parachute from the aircraft with everything they need to survive for a week. We have rescue operations on the Arctic tundra. The U.S. tends to have more specific duties. Their crew have deeper, specialized training in specific areas. Their system works for them and ours for us -- neither is better, but having seen it in action, it is easier to mesh and maximize the abilities each has."
Mitchell summed up his feelings. "Having confidence in your crew matters 100% in this job. I joined up to save lives, but the work involves a calculated risk. There are those times when you are not sure you're going to come home. It helps to know the people you're working with, and this kind of action helps that confidence level."

Throughout the operation, a minute-by-minute log was maintained, and all parties said that it would be examined and discussed for some time. The careful record from this controlled operation will allow review of procedures and planning, and make it more likely that when a real emergency call comes through the various agencies can respond even more smoothly and effectively.

Agencies taking part in the operation included: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax, the RCMP, New Brunswick Ground Search and Rescue, the Town of Saint Andrews, Maritime Emergency Medical in St. Andrews, Canadian Coast Guard Rescue Training Centre, Canadian Red Cross, 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Fundy Marine Communications and Traffic Service, Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Public Works, Quoddy Link Marine, Canadian Border Services Agency, Operations Center Boston, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England in Portland, U.S. Coast Guard Station Eastport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Washington County Emergency Management, Calais Regional Hospital and Down East EMS in Calais.