A tester and a testee: During the Littleton FEMA K-9 Testing event, 27 dogs and their handlers underwent diligent testing

Aggregate Industries’ Littleton FEMA Testing Facility Opens

Aggregate Industries Northeast Region’s Littleton K-9 Testing Facility Opens with 27 K-9s Attempting Certification

On May 15th and 16th, 2010, at the opening of the Aggregate Industries Littleton K-9 Testing Facility, rescue dogs from across the US honed their skills looking for volunteer human “victims” in rubble piles for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Canine Search Specialist Certification. During the event, 27 dogs and their handlers underwent diligent testing. The task given to dogs and their handlers was a simulation of recent Colebrook, NH explosion at a gun and ammunition plant.

Accompanied by search dog teams, FEMA Task Forces have responded swiftly to many of the national disasters including Hurricanes Andrew and Hugo, the San Bernardino and the Northridge earthquakes, the Oklahoma City and the first World Trade Center bombings, and the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. FEMA Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) dogs have answered to the tragedy unfolding in Mississippi and Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Gustave. As with all the rescue workers who have risked their lives, the FEMA US&R dogs that have worked on these sites are heroes. Again and again, they have provided a tremendous public service in times of need.

While FEMA's National Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (US&R) system has been a major search and rescue resource in the US for many years, finding a place that would meet their specifications hadn’t been an easy task. “A testing ground has to be an isolated area for safety and integrity of the exam,” says Anita Arnum, the assistant Task Force Manager who is also a 15-year veteran of the Task Force. She adds, “We are very grateful to Aggregate Industries for donating the Littleton Testing Facility that is specifically designed and dedicated to K-9 testing.”

Aggregate Industries’ Littlton K-9 Testing Facility is the only quarry location in the region to provide a facility that fulfills the organization’s needs for K-9 testing. To help maximize testing, Aggregate Industries built rubble piles for the rescue dogs with specially engineered void spaces throughout the piles for hiding “victims.” Those rescue dogs work in disasters all over the world do not become comfortable on rubble piles overnight without any “paws-on” experience – when FEMA came to Aggregate Industries and said that, the Company was delighted to donate the facility for testing and certification.

To those people who may be trapped in rubble following a natural or man made disaster, and “a qualified search dog team often means the difference between life and death,” says Gail McCarthy of MA-TF1. With the new facility, MA-TF 1 will be able to train regularly. MA-TF 1 is based in Beverly, Massachusetts. It is one of twenty-eight 28 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces (US&R) currently deployable by the Department of Homeland Security in the event of a national emergency.

Hosted by FEMA’s Massachusetts Task Force 1 (MA-TF 1), the success of the event was possible by many contributors and volunteers. Aggregate Industries donated the event site, significant rubble materials, and the equipment and manpower to build two complex piles. Other generous donors included Shea Concrete Products, Inc., the Coca Cola Company, Conigliaro Industries, Inc., Triumph Modular Corporation, Superior Products, Inc., Pipe Plus, Inc., Bridgewater Farm Supply, J.P. Routhier & Sons, Inc., Middlesex Corporation, Town of Littleton, and other contributors and volunteers in and out of the region.

The Littleton Quarry is located 35 miles north-west of Boston. The site has been in operation since the 1950s, starting as a Sand & Gravel pit then transitioning to a granite quarry. The Littleton Quarry strictly adheres to the ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System, uses a closed loop water recycling system for washing stone and for dust control, recycles washed ready mixed concrete and maintains green buffer zones between quarry and the neighboring community. The Quarry also participates in community outreach programs and is an active participant in local events. Recent achievements include the construction and donation of an on-site K-9 training facility for FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Dogs. The Littleton Quarry also supports biodiversity and is home to various wildlife habitats.