Tidal Basin’s experts recently conducted a Tabletop Exercise (TTX) for the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The purpose of the TTX was to help validate the Coordination Tool developed for the region that will be used when responding to emergencies or events along the Silver Line and the Dulles Toll Road in Northern Virginia. The tool contains useful technological elements such as maps, staging areas, command and control considerations, ingress and egress routes, and important contact information.

The area of the Silver Line along the Dulles Toll Road and Access Highway is dynamic, and access is limited. The region wanted to develop a tool to assist with coordinating response by first responders and the Metro system to incidents for better time-management purposes.

“A tabletop exercise is an opportunity to bring necessary stakeholders around the table and talk about dynamic and unique issues. Through Tidal Basin’s facilitation and guidance, we were able to elicit strong conversation that provided valuable feedback to improve the tool we were validating. A tabletop exercise can be so much more than just talking about a response – instead, it can foster relationships, ideas, and more importantly communication and collaboration amongst stakeholders who, at the end of the day, will have to work together to save lives, stabilize the incident, and ensure preservation of property and the environment.” – Stephanie Murphy, MS, CEM, Senior Director of Critical Infrastructure

Attendees included:

  • Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS)
  • Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
  • Fairfax County Police Department
  • Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management
  • Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department
  • Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Department
  • Loudoun County Office of Emergency Management
  • Metro Transit Police Department
  • WMATA Office of Emergency Management
  • Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire and Rescue Department
  • Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department
  • Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Emergency Management and Preparedness
  • Virginia Department of Transportation

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