Despite Canceled Training Exercises, Cooperation Was Key to Success of Saturday's Evacuation Drill

Cooperation between local, state and federal agencies was the key to the success of a fire evacuation drill Saturday for residents in the Panoramic, Edgewood and Cascade Canyon neighborhoods. 

Firefighters, however, had to cancel many of their planned training exercises since teams across the county were busy dealing with the real thing. Led by Mill Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike St. John, more than a dozen Marin firefighters were in southern California this weekend to help control the Ventura County Springs Fire, and are expected to return today.

"We had 17 fire engines scheduled," said Mill Valley Fire Battalion Chief Scott Barnes. Firefighters had planned to practice exercises like laying down hoses and driving the fire routes, and had a simulated transfer of authority from the local government to the Marin County Incident Management Team.

"The fire engines either went to the southern California wildfires, or had to staff their own departments," Barnes said.

Although it would have been a good opportunity, Mill Valley Police Detective Sgt. Paul Wrapp said the fact that resources were committed to actual disasters drove home the fact that the fire season has started early.

"It's a good eye opener for residents," Wrapp said.

At 9 a.m. those residents in the Panoramic, Edgewood and Cascade Canyon neighborhoods heard emergency sirens, received an alert through the Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS), and listened to evacuation instructions from above as the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Air Patrol flew a plane over Mill Valley and broadcast messages from a loudspeaker.

"It was a lot of resources and a lot of coordination," Wrapp said. "We couldn't make it happen without the cooperation of the other agencies."

Just some of those agencies included the Marin County Fire Department, Southern Marin Fire Protection District, Marin County Sheriff’s Office, National Parks Service, California Highway Patrol, MMWD Rangers, Mill Valley CERT, Salvation Army, Marin Humane Society, Whistlestop Wheels, and public safety agencies from across the county. (All participating agencies are listed at the bottom of this article.)

Mill Valley Mayor Andy Berman was also on the scene and called it "an amazing display of force and protection" in his weekly blog post on Patch.

"It's really nice to see how well everyone works together," Barnes said. "It's a well run machine once everything is set up."

The drill is voluntary, and notices went out to about 800 residents. Barnes said 170 people participated by checking in at their evacuation centers. At Old Mill School 115 residents registered, along with 55 at Marin County Fire Department’s Throckmorton Ridge Fire Station. A total of 108 people also completed surveys.

"The flow of the drill went really well," Barnes said. "Everyone knew their part."

Aside from having to cancel the fire exercises, there weren't many surprises, he said. But practice also makes perfect.

"Keeping track of resources out in the field is something we can always get better at," Barnes said. "If the wind shifts or a fire changes direction, we can advise them."

This was part of Mill Valley's annual evacuation drill. Although last year the focus was on flooding, more often than not it involves preparing for a fire. And for good reason.

"Mill Valley is just in a very vulnerable area," Wrapp said. With the last major fire occurring on Mount Tam in 1929, "the conditions are ripe for something like that to happen again."

Participating agencies included: Mill Valley Fire Department, Marin County Fire Department, Southern Marin Fire Protection District, Corte Madera Fire Department, Mill Valley Police, Marin County Sheriff’s office, Tiburon Police, Belvedere Police, National Parks Service, Fairfax Police, San Rafael Police, Novato Police, CHP, MMWD Rangers, Corte Madera Police, Marin County Search and Rescue, Marin County OES, Mill Valley CERT, Salvation Army, Mill Valley Emergency Preparedness Commission, Mill Valley City Council and City Manager, Marin Humane Society, Whistlestop Wheels, Marin Medical Reserve Corp, Red Cross and Mill Valley Department of Public Works.

Were you a part of the drill? How did it go? Tell us in the comments.

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