Raton hosts terrorism-response training

“The capabilities of the team are very specialized and unique”

Specially-trained emergency responders from local, state and federal agencies spent last week training in Raton and Angel Fire participating in drills designed to keep them ready to handle incidents of terrorist actions or other threats involving chemical, radiological, biological or nuclear material.

Raton Fire and Emergency Services has been training annually with the New Mexico National Guard's 64th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team for the last eight years. This year, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Radiological Assistance Program also sent a team to Colfax County for last week's drills that involved a main scenario featuring radiation detected at the port of entry north of Raton, with the unknown source then proceeding into the city. That called for teams to track down the source by searching multiple areas and buildings in Raton where the radiation source might potentially be found. Read more