On March 8, an explosion damaged or destroyed a number of recreational vehicles arriving for an RV Super Show at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio. The explosion also hit some buildings, trapping an unknown number of casualties inside. Within a half hour, reports of explosions on the east side of Columbus came in, forcing local law enforcement agencies throughout Franklin County to request assistance with traffic control, investigation operations and on-scene security.

This large-scale incident completely engaged local first responders, leading to an activation of the Ohio Emergency Response System. But this disaster wasn't all that it seemed. The entire scenario was an exercise held to demonstrate the system's capabilities to a gathering of fire association representatives from 43 states and national and international responder agencies.

The demonstration was the last part of a two-day meeting that focused on preparing for large-scale emergency response both within a state and outside its borders. Ohio representatives Chief John Preuer (Ret.), formerly of the Mentor (Ohio) Fire Department, and Chief Mitchell Ross of the Upper Arlington (Ohio) Fire Department had outlined the state's system to the stakeholders group during previous meetings. Witnessing how Ohio had prepared would give the mutual aid stakeholders who attended the meeting a better feel for the task at hand.

In fact, discussions currently are under way with the International Association of Fire Chiefs about using Ohio's Emergency Response System as a template for other states' response plans. The configuration of the resource database, supported by a roster of plan coordinators at the county and regional levels, has the look and feel of a national system as envisioned by federal disaster response planners.

The demonstration was designed to showcase the resource database and procedures for activation, as well as the newly designed customized software that made electronic activation of both the fire and law enforcement response systems a breeze. A planning group consisting of representatives from all disciplines involved in disaster response met for months in advance of the deployment demonstration. Teams were identified to handle operations, planning, logistics and finance and administration, and were so arranged to coincide with the organizational structure outlined by NIMS.

Organizers soon decided to broaden the scope to better mimic a real-life disaster. Exercise planners, led by Chief George Brown and Chief Paul Slaughter (Ret.) of the Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association, then-Director Ken Morckel of the Department of Public Safety, Director Nancy Dragani of Ohio Emergency Management Agency, and Vern Chenevey of Ohio Homeland Security, redirected the deployment to encompass 90 total fire engines, medics and law enforcement personnel.

The first order of business was identifying a staging area that could handle both arriving apparatus and conference attendees. The Ohio State Fairgrounds was the logical first choice, but it was unavailable. Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in south Columbus was chosen for the staging area, and conference attendees and invited guests watched the deployment at the Columbus Police Training Academy.

On the day of the deployment demonstration, the call went out to fire, EMS and law enforcement departments across the state to begin forwarding equipment and personnel to Rickenbacker Air Force Base. The farthest unit responded from 78 miles outside of Columbus.

Staging managers from multiple disciplines worked together to catalog all responding resources. They directed each unit to a designated pre-deployment location on the tarmac to form 16 task forces. Each task force comprised engines, ALS/BLS squads and law enforcement. A task force would be given an assignment and then deployed out in the field. Even as a task force was leaving the staging area, new equipment was arriving. This was challenging, but the use of a single staging commander made the task simpler.

Meanwhile, the observers filed into the Police Training Center to watch the event unfold. Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association President Chief George Brown provided the background on the demonstration and got the event under way.

Large screens carried video of the staging area and of the dispatching activities in the Columbus Fire Division's Fire Alarm Office. Throughout the staging process, attendees heard presentations on various aspects of Ohio's emergency preparedness, including CHEMPAK, resource typing, the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System and the Buckeye State Sheriff's Association regional communications vehicles. These informational presentations enabled Ohio to show its preparedness status to peers nationwide while at the same time filling the time it was taking for the apparatus to arrive at the staging area and be checked in. The result was a fast-paced, interesting show using the latest technology to virtually transport observers to various locations around the city.