Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald is pleased to report that the Manchester-by-the-Sea Police Department participated in training aimed at improving the department’s response to oil spills.
On Wednesday, April 10, members of the Gloucester Fire Department, the Gloucester Harbormaster’s Office, the Manchester-by-the Sea Police and Fire Departments and Harbormaster’s office, the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, the U.S. Coast Guard, and MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office all participated in a drill at Masconomo Park in Manchester-by-the-Sea, to improve preparedness for responding to oil spills.
Participants first practiced using MassDEP-provided oil spill response trailers, practicing handling and configuring booms. Participants practiced deploying the booms on the water, creating a 250-foot exclusion area using booms that were setup around a floating dock.
Following deployment of the booms, participants debriefed to determine what went well and areas of improvement.
The training was part of MassDEP’s First Responder Training and Geographic Response Strategy Testing Program, which has conducted 98 field exercises to help prepare thousands of first responders to respond to oil spills.
MassDEP has deployed oil spill response trailers across the Commonwealth’s 76 coastal communities to ensure resources are available locally in the event of an emergency.
