BELOIT, Wis. — The Wisconsin National Guard’s 54th Civil Support Team (CST) — a specialized unit of full-time Army and Air National Guard members trained to respond to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear emergencies — responded to a call for assistance from Rock County Emergency Management Jan. 12.
The 54th CST was asked to provide air monitoring and potential plume modeling in Beloit, Wisconsin due to a fire at a tire recycling facility on Yates Avenue. The 54th CST dispatched eight personnel and two vehicles with air monitoring equipment to the site and coordinated with the Beloit Fire Department upon arrival shortly before 10 a.m.
After meeting all of the incident commander’s objectives, the 54th was released around 12:15 p.m. and returned to Madison, Wisconsin.
The 54th CST supports civil authorities at an incident site by identifying chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive agents or substances, assessing risk, advising the incident commander on action plans and assisting with a full spectrum of follow-on forces if needed. The team routinely trains with first responders across the state, and is one example of the value the Wisconsin National Guard brings to state and local agencies.