- Operation W.O.W. will allow special operations and incident management teams from Oakland, Western Wayne and Livingston counties to hone their skills in various rescue scenarios in downtown Rochester.
- The daylong full-scale exercise will simulate a scenario of a collapsed six-story apartment building with an unknown number of residents trapped.
- Media are invited to attend. Coverage details will be outlined in a separate media advisory. RSVP is required.
Rochester, Mich. – Oakland County Emergency Management will be hosting a regional full-scale disaster exercise on Sept. 17 to practice various rescue scenarios for a simulated six-story apartment building collapse with an unknown number of trapped victims.
Motivated by the lessons from the 2021 Surfside condominium collapse in Miami, special operations and incident management teams from Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties will test their skills in Operation W.O.W. during a 12-hour exercise that day in downtown Rochester.
“This exercise is crucial for ensuring our teams are ready to respond swiftly and effectively in the face of a real disaster and supports Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter’s strategic goals of safe neighborhoods and healthy residents,” said Thomas Hardesty, director of Oakland County Emergency Management. “By simulating a large-scale building collapse, we can sharpen our skills and improve coordination across multiple agencies to save lives when it matters most.”
Some of the challenges first responders will face during the daylong drill will include a building collapse rescue, a rope rescue, a confined space extrication, and a tower rescue. Special operations teams will utilize their equipment and skills in simulated scenarios at the Rochester Fire Department Training Center.
Incident management teams also will practice developing plans for coordinating the response.
Participating agencies include:
In support of regional partnerships, Oakland County IMT includes members from a wide area including Eaton, Lenawee, Macomb and Monroe counties. Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division will also have on-site personnel assisting with the exercise. In total, more than 100 first responders and emergency management professionals will participate.
News media are invited to attend the observation windows from 9 a.m.-noon and 2-5 p.m. Coverage details will be outlined in a separate media advisory. For safety, RSVP is required at OaklandCountyPIO@oakgov.com.
What does Operation W.O.W. stand for? It’s a creative way of combining the core participants from western Wayne and Oakland counties.
Oakland County Emergency Management extends its gratitude to Dillman and Upton, a Rochester-based company donating thousands of dollars of lumber to use during the exercise; Doran Excavating of Auburn Hills for lending machinery and expertise; and the City of Rochester for availing the fire training center.
