The Fishers Island Fire Department’s Emergency Management Team* participated in a disaster drill held by FEMA in partnership with Millstone. The department actually completes this drill each year – every other year it is a graded.
This year the graded drill was held Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at local emergency operations centers in a 10-mile radius of the power plant. These included Groton City, Groton Town, Ledyard, Lyme, Montville, New London, Old Lyme, Waterford, CT and Fishers Island, N.Y.
Each EOC participated in conference calls and heard briefings from members of the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As John Bergquist, the Emergency Management Director of Fishers, reminded us, each local community’s emergency plans are reviewed every year and tested with outside observers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) every two years. This drill takes about five hours to complete the disaster scenario set for them. On Fishers, it runs from the command center, ‘the bunker,’ in the Fire House basement.
When asked what the most significant takeaway from Tuesday’s drill was, FI Emergency Management Director John Bergquist said, “I most appreciated that everyone showed up! I know they all have busy lives, jobs, and obligations. However, our Fishers Island Fire Department EMO Team of volunteers all came to the task Tuesday morning.” Everyone came to practice managing this crisis should a disaster or catastrophic event occur. The team passed this biennial test with flying colors!
*John Bergquist with Ken Ahman, Andrew Ahrens, Chris Aiello, Courtney Allan, Joe Brock, Tracy Brock, Matt Edwards, Harrison Hall, Dirk Harris, George Horning, Bruce Hubert, Porfirio Rodriguez, Ian Tirabassi, and Patty Walker.
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
THIS IS A DRILL THIS IS A DRILL THIS IS A DRILL
7:36 am—An explosion in Millstone’s Unit 3 was attributed to “hostile action”.
7:40 am—Fishers Emergency Operations Center (EOC) members gathered in the ‘bunker’ in the basement of the Firehouse.
7:40 am—The important task of watching and reporting the wind speed and direction, as well as any plume from Millstone in Niantic, continued through the morning.
7:50 am—Calling began to all the major employers, school, clubs, and ferry ops to get the headcount for the island population that day
8:30 am—Millstone went to the second highest emergency level but reported “no radioactive release at that time.”
9:00 am—School Superintendent checked in in person and reported on the school attendance /population for the day. The School stayed ‘in session’. He was asked about his supply of iodine tablets and confirmed that the supply was ample and up to date.
9:10 am—The CT governor released an emergency declaration during a conference call, which should be shared with residents to ensure they understand the importance of taking the recommended precautions.
9:33 am—The drill’s fictitious ‘stakes’ rose as a report of the Millstone plant’s release of radiation
9:40 am—FEMA personnel and FIFD members took Engine 3 out to explore a report of a siren malfunctioning at Middle Farms.
A discussion of potassium iodide followed in the bunker and related directly to this drill scenario where the prevailing wind was traveling northwest all morning from the area of Niantic toward East Lyme. In this case, “potassium iodide is used to protect the thyroid gland from the effects of radiation from inhaled or swallowed radioactive iodine.” Mayo Clinic
Fishers Island’s EOC concentrated on the drill scenario and the unique obstacles the Island would face in a similar situation. These included the ferries’ involvement, whether to evacuate, the population fluctuations from season to season, and other issues involved with true emergency management.
Article information sources include interviews with Fishers Island EMD John Bergquist, various members of the Fishers Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and The Day.
