EU MODEX CBRN- Lyon, France
From 28 February to 3 March 2023, the Lyon Fire and Rescue Service (SDMIS) hosted an EU MODEX which focused on chemical biological, radiological and nuclear risks (CBRN).
The scenario of the EU MODEX focused on CBRN that took place in France was a terrible storm that devastated the Auvergne - Rhône – Alpes region, especially the industrial area in the south of Lyon known as the 'chemical valley', famous for the large number of Seveso sites located there. In these industrial sites and amongst the communities, the storm depicted by the scenario triggered fires, pollution, accidents, killed 15 people, injured 250 people and affected hundreds of residents living in Lyon and its surroundings. Overwhelmed, the French authorities decided to request assistance through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
"Under the supervision of ECHO and APELL, we tried to design and deliver a very realistic and challenging exercise where the Modules could have the possibility to demonstrate their ability to face many complex CBRN and real-life situations that could happen on a field operation such as this one."
Three CBRN Detection Modules under certification from Germany, Italy and Romania were present in Lyon to demonstrate their capabilities and skills in sampling and identifying substances. The Czech Republic and Türkiye which were also supposed to participate were unfortunately obliged to cancel following the earthquake. Besides these three Modules, France also deployed two additional teams: one CBRN Detection Module from the military units of the French Civil Protection and one communication Module: FENICS. In total, 156 team members were able to face civil protection and environmental issues and work with the 150 French role players coming mostly from SDMIS. To this extend, this was a good opportunity for the Lyon fire service to test and implement their Host Nation Support procedures.
"From day one, our objective was to try to come up with a realistic scenario that could give the Modules the possibility to work also with radiological sources and biological pathogens."
During 48 hours these 5 Modules were deployed on sites, mainly implicating chemical scenarios such as the TOTAL refinery, Solvay chemicals, a HAZMAT transportation company, a train in a railway hub or even on the Rhône river due to water pollution. But working only with chemical substances was not the target.
The scenario therefore mentioned that during the storm, radiological sources had been stolen due to security breaches. This gave the opportunity for the Modules to work with real radiological contamination and sources in very realistic conditions. Besides, the CBRN Det Modules also had the possibility to work with authentic biological pathogens as one of the worksites chosen was the veterinary school hosting a multi-disciplinary research P3 lab.
The base of operations (BoO) was located southwest of Lyon, close to the work sites and was, as always, the perfect place to test the Modules with different injects such as the visits of VIPs, the robbery of equipment or a fire needing to evacuate the tents in the middle of the night!
More information on FENICS Module
The FENICS module, which stands for Field Emergency Network Infrastructure and Communication Squad, is a tool designed to establish a strategic communication network in the field during times when all other communication infrastructures (4G/5G) are down. This unique Module, that is still under certification, has already been deployed to support GFFFV Modules in the south-west of France following the terrible forest fires that occurred in August 2022.
"FENICS is the result of more than three years of work by passionate firefighters supported by the General Directorate of the French Civil Security and based on a technical ecosystem co-built with French companies. We are proud to have been able to participate in this Modex CBRN in Lyon to share our capabilities. We thank the organizers for the trust they have placed in us."
FENICS module enables communities and teams on the field to communicate using only smartphones with a mission critical services application including push to talk, chat, video, geolocation and distress management features.
It can also provide technical expertise to determine the right tool according to the needs and objectives of the incident commander. It is no doubt a precious toolbox to deploy communication solutions needed on an operation for modules, EUCPT and also ERCC.
This module is a valuable aid to maintain the continuity of communication means during disasters, providing internet access not only for bases of operation but also for the disaster-stricken populations. Additionally, within the framework of the UCPM, the module respects border frequency regulation, avoiding any possible disruption of the communication means in the host country by the modules in reinforcement.