Scenario Village

Figure 1: Panoramic shot of Scenario Village taken from the observation deck.

Scenario Village is both a place and a PBEM program. As a place, Scenario Village is a 13,400 square foot indoor "mock town" owned and operated by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). The Village layout includes six buildings of various shapes and sizes (commercial and residential), streets, alleyways, and an observation deck. A Scenario Village Exercise is one of the highest quality training opportunities available to NET volunteers.

NET volunteers use the Village several times a year for comprehensive response exercises. In a typical single exercise, NETs conduct search and rescue, triage, medical treatment, radio communications, SUV management, and leadership/delegation to respond to moulaged Survivors. A single exercise at Scenario Village can include distinct neighborhood teams or members from many neighborhoods blending into a team and working together.

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Exercise Information

All subheadings in this section describe a typical Scenario Village exercise, but much listed here is fluid and can change. The Village is versatile enough that the PBEM exercise organizer could consider any number of alternative training scenarios, or add/take away/change any of the exercise elements described below. The PBEM exercise organizer is responsible for appropriately shaping expectations about the exercise if anything described in this section is going to significantly change.

This applies also for the typical exercise scenario for Scenario Village, which is: NET rescuers are responding in their neighborhood in the aftermath of a megathrust earthquake and mass casualty situation (MCI) on an afternoon with clear weather.

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Exercise Location, Rules, and General Expectations

Scenario Village takes place at the Portland Police Bureau Training Division facility, 14912 NE Airport Way in Portland. Persons attending these exercises are guests of the Portland Police Bureau. NETs continuing to exercise at Scenario Village depends on following the rules of this highly secure facility. Failure to abide by appropriate conduct can result in a permanent ban from the facility, and removal from the NET program in egregious cases.

Facility rules

• In all things, follow the NET Code of Conduct.
• Remember that NETs are guests here; follow the Campsite Rule and leave the space better than how you found it. Clean up trash and other disposables.
• Follow any and all instructions given to you by PPB officers and employees. Follow any posted rules at the facility.
• Unless given permission and/or escorted by PPB or PBEM staff, you may not enter any area of the building besides the immediate lobby (including restrooms) and the Village.
• Follow all identification protocols you are instructed to. You will likely be provided with a color-coded paper bracelet to identify you as an exercise participant; do not remove it while in the facility.
• Except inside Scenario Village itself, do not leave any facility doors open behind you. NEVER chock a door or leave an outside door open.
• Do not bring guests without clearing them first through PBEM. If they are not a NET volunteer, they may need to undergo a criminal background check.
• Sign in when you arrive. If the scatterbrained PBEM employee running the exercise forgot to bring a sign-in sheet, make one and turn it in to PBEM.
• Do not bring cutting instruments/sharp instruments into the exercise area (bandage shears are an exception). PPB personnel will confiscate them, to be returned to you before you leave. That's right: no small pocketknives or multitools with pocketknives either.
• Do not leave any permanent markings on any walls. If you want to make building markings in the Village, use a sheet of paper (provided by PBEM).
• THE MAGIC WORDS ARE "REAL WORLD!" If a Player/Survivor/Proctor at any time observes something unsafe, or a situation that is about to become unsafe, they should yell "REAL WORLD". All in earshot must pause what they are doing while a proctor assesses the situation, and will un-pause the exercise when/if appropriate.

General tips about facility use

• Take extra precautions to make sure you arrive on time. Again, this is a secure building. The front door is locked as are all areas of the building. Nobody staffs the front desk while the exercise commences. If you arrive late, you have to call someone inside (who may not hear their phone because of background noise), and then someone has to be escorted through locked areas to get you and escort you back.
• Exercise the way you would respond. Be ready to put your team's Operations Plan into action if you have one. For equipment, with the exception of sharp/cutting instruments, bring the equipment you would bring in a real deployment. Doing these things will reveal the best and the deficient practices in how you prepare equipment and organize your team.
• There are working restrooms in the Village. You don't need to worry about holding it after you enter the exercise area, or use some darkened Scenario Village alleyway (which will absolutely get you ejected).
• Have key phone numbers handy. If you are late, or get locked out of an area, be ready to call a fellow NET or PBEM staff in the exercise so someone can let you in.
• If you happen to see any moulaged Survivors avoid looking at them if possible. That's like seeing answers before an exam. Anyway, staring at someone's injuries is just rude.
• You will be frisked and your bags thoroughly checked by a PPB or PBEM employee. So leave the bazooka at home, ok? It gets awkward when you bring that.
• Keep track of which and how much/many disposable supplies you use in the exercise, and report that to PBEM by email after the exercise (net@portlandoregon.gov). Disposable supplies include bandages, emergency blankets, masks, caution tape, and so on. PBEM will have replacement supplies shipped to you shortly after the exercise.

Preparing yourself mentally

• Prepare yourself mentally for some stress. For the exercise to be a meaningful training experience, the exercise designer is going to introduce some level of stress. If you find the exercise easy, the exercise designer did their job poorly. If you find an exercise too stressful, ask your Incident Team Leader or the exercise proctors to turn it down, and/or check out with your Team Leader and take a break on the observation deck.
• Don't fret about "failure" or "making mistakes". As long as everyone walks away from the exercise uninjured (in the real-world) the only way you can "fail" is by not learning anything. Use the Scenario Village space and time to make mistakes and experiment; that's exactly why we exercise. It is strange the number of volunteers who walk away from Scenario Village feeling unsettled, even dispirited, like they "didn't do a good job". As long as you learn from the exercise, you did a good job. Go get some (locally made) ice cream when it's over, OK? You earned it.

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Exercise Objectives and Core Capabilities

The following exercise objectives in the table below describe the expected outcomes for the exercise. The objectives are linked to core capabilities, which are distinct critical elements necessary to achieve the specific mission area(s).

Exercise Objectives	Core Capabilities
Organize a command post	Leadership/delegation, operations planning, radio communications, organizing/distributing/using documents.
Conduct search for survivors	Size-up, marking buildings, search patterns.
Triage survivors	Injury triage, limited medical treatment, establishing medical triage area.
Survivor recovery	Cribbing, patient packaging, patient transport to triage area.
Team support radio communications	Proper use of FRS/GMRS radios, frequencies, and tactical communication.
Report to the ECC	Proper use of the DAMM.
Manage SUVs	Disaster psychology, volunteer management.

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Exercise Assumptions and Artificialities

In any Scenario Village exercise, assumptions and artificialities ensure completing play in the time allotted and/or account for logistical limitations. Scenario Village participants should accept assumptions and artificialities, and not allow these considerations to negatively impact participation.

• Cell service is "down"; players cannot use cell phones to communicate with each other. However, participants may use the DAMM.
• Because of security rules of the Village, players cannot carry cutting instruments/sharp instruments into the exercise area.
• Survivors will wear triage cards around their necks with information about their condition such as heart rate, etc. Many "survivors" will also wear moulage to simulate injuries.
• Players are NOT permitted to mark up the buildings in the Village (to convey casualties inside, etc). PBEM provides large sticky note pads to write on and place on the outer walls of buildings.
• No patient transports on stairs. Where Players would normally transport a patient down a set of stairs, the actor will stand up and walk slowly with the responding Players. Once they clear the stairs, they may re-commence a patient transport.

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Variable Exercise Elements

The following exercise factors can be adjusted, added, or removed by exercise proctors to make the exercise more or less challenging.

Element	Settings
Aftershocks	Proctors can whistle for attention and declare an aftershock is taking place. That might change some elements in the exercise such as injury statuses, missing people, or relevant building damage.
Background noise	Proctors can set up a sound system in the Village with white noise, or play stressful noises such as loud traffic, explosions, chainsaws, people screaming in distress, political stump speeches, angry goats, the theme music from "Conan the Barbarian", and more. Background noise will also interfere with use of tactical radios.
Downed electrical wires	Proctors may set up downed wires that present a hazard and must be avoided/worked around.
Fallen debris	Fallen debris in the form of wood blocks might cover a Survivor.
Gas meter	A gas meter attached to a building may leak (sound simulated by a SCBA tank).
Hazardous Materials NFPA 704 diamond	Participants might see an NFPA 704 diamond-shaped sign warning of hazardous materials in a building.
Lighting	Proctors can use the artificial light and the large access doors in the Village to control visibility and simulate time of day, up to and including pitch dark. Individual buildings also have exterior and interior lighting.
Persons with Disabilities	One or more Survivors may be using a wheelchair or other assistance device, have a service animal, or have some other condition that bears on how Players choose to respond.
Persons who do not speak English	Players may encounter one or more survivors who do not speak English.
Smoke machine	To simulate high dust (NOT smoke from a fire, which NET volunteers cannot respond to) proctors may set up a smoke machine to reduce visibility for participants.
Strobe	Sometimes a strobe light will be installed in an area to increase the stress and confusion level.
Survivors (injured)	Possibly the most important exercise element is the number and condition of injured Survivors.
Survivors (uninjured)	Uninjured Survivors may be helpful SUVs, unhelpful SUVs, someone providing information, someone trapped, or someone causing trouble.

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Exercise Timeline

Before you visit the Scenario Village facility, please view the section on how to prepare for the exercise and arrive ready to go.

Unless you receive an email with a different timetable, the timetable for your experience at Scenario Village looks like this:

AM SHIFT		PM SHIFT		TIME	Personnel	Activities
From	To	From	To
0800	0900	1230	1330	60 min.	All non-Player personnel	Set up Village for play, moulage Survivors, set up refreshments in the lobby.
0830	0900	1300	1330	30 min.	Players	Players arrive at PPB Training Division and gather in lobby, discuss operations plan, clarify player roles (led by Incident Team Leader). Doors will not open to Players sooner than this time.
0900	0910	1330	1340	10 min.	Players, Proctors, and Observers	All-hands safety briefing; a proctor will go over safety rules and exercise expectations.
0910	0930	1340	1400	20 min.	Players, Survivors, PPB personnel	All Players, Survivors, Observers, and Proctors bag checked, marked, and cleared for entry into the Village area. As Survivors process in, Proctors will place them, answer questions, and listen to awesome music. Meanwhile, Players gather in the Village ready room and/or outside doors to the Village and discuss operations planning further.
0930	1015	1400	1445	45 min.	All Players and Proctors	First run through for Players. Proctors may allocate more or less time during this period depending on whether the Players struggle with the response effort.
1015	1030	1445	1500	15 min.	All Players, Survivors, and Proctors	Hotwash and assessments for the first run through. Proctors usually start with most critical observations, and then the ITL is asked for their opinion. Survivors will sometimes make observations as well.
1030	1045	1500	1515	15 min.	All Players, Survivors, and Proctors	Players briefly retire to the staging area to plan the next run. Meanwhile, Proctors reset the Village and re-place the Survivors.
1045	1130	1515	1600	45 min.	All Players, Survivors, and Proctors	Second run through for Players.
1130	1200	1600	1630	30 min.	All Players, Survivors, and Proctors	Final hotwash and discussion; parting reminders. Players/Survivors/Observers go home, Proctors remain to pack up the Village and clean. Please let the Proctors end the exercise at this time so they can go home when they planned to. If Players or others have questions or observations they would like to add, they should email a NET Coordinator.

Note that delays can and do happen, and the schedule is adjusted accordingly in those situations.

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Scenario Village Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Is Scenario Village indoors or outdoors?

The Village itself is indoors, but there is no climate control in thar. So if it's cold outside, it will be cold in the Village. Players will probably spend a short amount of time (up to 30 minutes) on the other side of the Village's exterior door. Therefore, weather appropriate clothing is, indeed, appropriate.

Q: Are there restrooms at Scenario Village?

Yes; everyone has access to accessible restrooms both in the lobby and inside the Village.

Q: Will you serve food at the exercise?

We provide lunch to Survivors and Proctors, but Players are on their own. Sorry, we need to keep costs down.

Q: Should I bring...

(INSERT: vest, bandages, glaives, pry bar, SKED, ...etc)

The answer to this question is always: we don't know...should you? Remember: you exercise how you respond. Bring what you would carry in a real response. Think you want to haul around that 50-pound wrecking bar? OK, do it, we Proctors can use the laugh. There are three exceptions to this rule:

• You must NOT bring sharp stabby objects.
• You must NOT bring anything that is clearly a weapon.
• You must wear closed-toe footwear.

Q: But I can bring bandage shears?

Yes; that is the one exception to the don't bring sharp things to Scenario Village rule.

Q: Will PBEM replace disposables I used during the exercise?

Yes, we have a budget for that. While in the exercise, note down what you use. After the exercise, email net@portlandoregon.gov with the list and your mailing address. We will replenish your supplies ASAP. Bandages and other disposable medical supplies, caution tape, grease pencils, you name it.

Q: I left something at Scenario Village. How can I get it back?

Email net@portlandoregon.gov to find out if we picked it up during cleanup. If we did not, you'll want to call PPB Training to see if they have it (503-823-0316). If you had a sharp object that the police confiscated, it will still be at PPB Training and you'll have to arrange pick up with them.

Q: Can I borrow equipment from PBEM for this exercise?

With exception, no. We used to loan equipment (such as SKEDs or radios) but realized it added to the artificiality of the exercise. Try to borrow from your team members if you can. If PBEM receives a compelling reason to make an exception to this rule, we'll make an exception. Because at the end of the day, we're soft-hearted softies, yeah?

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Scenario Village Program History

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