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SBSO PARTICIPATES IN MOCK EVACUATION EXERCISE
St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office deputies and members of its Community Emergency Response Team, or C.E.R.T. team, recently participated in St. Bernard Parish’s annual mock evacuation exercise held at the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center in Chalmette, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.
The exercise, conducted by the St. Bernard Parish Government’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, focused on the parish’s Critical Transportation Needs (CTN) and Special Medical Needs (SMN) evacuation programs.
Led by St. Bernard Parish Government’s Director of Homeland Security John Rahaim Jr., and supported by numerous community partners, the annual drill helps emergency personnel prepare to assist residents who may require transportation or additional medical support during a hurricane evacuation or other emergency situation. The program is designed for residents who cannot self-evacuate due to limited transportation, resources or medical conditions.
During the exercise, parish buses transported mock evacuees to the parish pick-up point where they were processed, registered and loaded onto evacuation buses headed to a pre-designated shelter.
Deputies assigned to SBSO’s Special Operations Division Community Relations and Courthouse Security assisted during the exercise by checking bags and screening individuals with handheld metal detectors as participants arrived, helping ensure the drill mirrored real-world emergency security procedures.
Members of the SBSO C.E.R.T. team volunteered their time by assisting with registration and directing community members to designated staging areas as if they were being evacuated during an actual disaster.
Also participating in the exercise were St. Bernard Parish Government employees, St. Bernard firefighters, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, St. Bernard Urban Rapid Transit, Louisiana National Guard, residents of St. Bernard Manor, The Arc of St. Bernard and employees of Ochsner St. Bernard Parish Hospital.
St. Bernard Parish residents with special needs or those without transportation resources can register for evacuation assistance through the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness by calling (504) 278-4268 or by visiting St. Bernard Parish Government and selecting Homeland Security’s Special Needs Registration page.
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