Southeastern Pa. Regional Task Force holds full-scale training event in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Members of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force gathered in Philadelphia Saturday for a full-scale training that involved several exercises.

"It's great to see the months of exercise planning, months of reviewing threats and hazards in our region to understand what we should train and exercise for," said Dominick Mireles, vice chair of Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force.

Roughly 100 people from five counties participated in the training.

Officials said a lot of planning goes on behind the scenes to coordinate training efforts. They look at previous disaster situations to understand what they've learned and how to put that forward on the job.

"A lot of this is real life situations we try to emulate every day, so it's a good thing we're getting together given our counties partnership," said Derek Bowmer, executive officer for the Philadelphia Fire Department.

It's a regional partnership between five counties from Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, and Delaware.

While the counties worked closely together for the day, the collaboration doesn't end there.

"Even getting everybody out together, people change, practices change, equipment changes," said Mireles while talking about the importance of in person training.

Bowmer says the regional partnership along with federal funding is critical. They work with each other on a regular basis, and funding helps them get new equipment, among other things.

The full-scale exercise had a six year hiatus. A longer break than normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials say the in-person training is critical to improving their skills on the job.