ENGINEERS NEWS – WINTER 2017
Anyone who has visited our Operating Engineers 324 Sam T. Hart Construction Career Center in the last 12 years has probably been made aware of the special training area that resides to the northwest side of the main road heading back from the classrooms. There, among the trees and small hills, sits the training area where OE324 and the Michigan Urban Search and Rescue (MUSAR) combine to train as Emergency Responders.
MUSAR was founded in 1991 by municipal first responders from around the state who receive special training in technical rescue operations. These volunteer responders are organized into task forces that can be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the event of a disaster.
Starting with instruction in rigging, OE324 and MUSAR began their partnership in 1999. MUSAR began using the facilities in Howell for training in skills inside and out of the Operating Engineers specialties. Today, there is a large section of the Construction Career Center dedicated to both MUSAR and First Responder training to keep the public safe during natural and man-made disasters.
The OE324 MUSAR training area has dedicated sections and obstacles for training in trench rescue, breaching and breaking, a steeplechase style obstacle course for K-9 unit dogs, shoring, building collapse, confined space training and fi re/burning rescue.
In addition to MUSAR, OE324 has been host to several other law enforcement and first responder entities as well, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Border Patrol, Michigan State Police and the MSP Bomb Squad.
Throughout the year, these groups come out to Howell to train, often alongside Operating Engineers, in the most efficient and safe ways to carry out these tasks. OE324 provides the space and materials without cost to the municipalities and organizations. That’s part of our mission to help the communities where we work and live. On any given day, particularly in the summer and fall, the parking lot will have cars and trucks representing emergency personnel from municipalities all over the state who are back in the MUSAR area training with the best Operating Engineers in the country.
OE324 has assisted in some very unique specialty training as well. Over the last 20 years, rope rescue training, ice rescue, FBI forensic evidence recovery training, FBI bomb technician training and MSP Forensic bomb training have all taken place there.
Operating Engineers are no strangers to emergency response. From rigging and hoisting to heavy equipment operation, many of the skills and tools necessary when disaster strikes, are the things Operators train and work on daily. This includes Stationary Engineers, whose knowledge of boilers and large complex pressure systems, keep us safe daily, from schools to nuclear power plants. In the unfortunate event of a disaster, Operators are often on the front lines of the response.
In September, Michigan’s Task Force 1 was deployed to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and two Operating Engineers – John Haberkorn and Derek Sather – were among the team dispatched. Their skill, expertise and training are an integral part of this quick response unit. MUSAR stands out as one of 28 Task Forces organized under FEMA’s National Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Response System. OE 324 is proud to partner and work with MUSAR and other Emergency Responder groups, and look forward to continued collaboration to help ensure safety and fast response in times of trouble.
