Fire agencies hold fire simulation drill to practice for real-world disasters

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Sheriff's Office wildland fire crew simulated a wildfire incident in the Monument area on Saturday, hoping to help the incident management team prepare for real-life situations.

11 different fire agencies from cities across El Paso County and the state banded together in Monument for a fire simulation drill in Palmer Lake.

The team worked together on scenarios to identify potential problems and find solutions. ThoseIncluding identifying what resources they need from a state or federal level, and what obstacles might be in the way.

"Whether it's wildland fire, snowstorms, blizzards, tornados, and even wind events," Captain Mike Smaldino with the Colorado Springs Fire Department said. "So the concept we have going on today is we bring everybody together and act out what could possibly be a scenario that could happen here in El Paso county. This one happens to be happening in Monument, and then start getting the role players together to where we can be ready for when that real event happens."

Part of the goal is to get regional players together to work collaboratively.

"Because not one agency has the ability to do this by itself," Smaldino added.

Part of what the team does is make the call on whether to keep resources local, or possibly grow the incident based on what they can handle. This can include ordering resources from higher levels such as state or federal.

"What we want to do, is when that event happens, make sure it isn't the first time I'm meeting somebody," Smaldino said. "So it isn't the first time we're asking each other, 'okay what do you do?' We already know what they can bring to the table."