EM Richland Operations Office contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) recently trained members of the DOE Catastrophic Incident Response Team on damage assessment and restoration after a natural disaster.

DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response leads the team, providing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with energy expertise after emergencies.

During the two-day training at the Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center on the Hanford Site, the team members received hands-on training with damage assessment tools such as drones, mapping software and satellite communications. HAMMER stands for Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response.

They took information gathered with these tools and applied it to computer scenarios to establish proficiency. With help from the HMIS mapping team, responders submitted a visual survey of field assessments. The HMIS drone team also shared lessons learned from flights on the Hanford Site.

“HAMMER provided one-of-a-kind training expertise and props during the recent team training,” said Ken Buell, deputy director for the emergency response office’s response and recovery section. “This is the first time we’ve been able to provide in-person training with these specialized props and tools adding new proficiencies to the team’s toolbox.”

The team was created after the record-breaking hurricane season of 2017, which devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

“We’ve expanded the team capability beyond just its energy experts in electrical infrastructure,” said Nicole Zawadzki, manager of HAMMER’s National Programs section. “DOE experts in rebuilding energy transmission, distribution and generation now make up the team, and work daily to support our nation’s electrical grid. The team is now being requested for all energy emergencies. FEMA and industries also request these team members after natural disasters.”

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