Brian Vance, manager of the EM Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office, addresses the audience at the Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center’s 25th anniversary celebration. The facility began as a management-labor partnership focused on the safety and health of workers and emergency responders.

Brian Vance, manager of the EM Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office, addresses the audience at the Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center’s 25th anniversary celebration. The facility began as a management-labor partnership focused on the safety and health of workers and emergency responders.

RICHLAND, Wash. – The Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center recently commemorated its 25th year of operation as EM’s premier hands-on health, safety and emergency response training center.

Managed by EM Richland Operations Office contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, HAMMER stands for Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response. It began operations in 1997 as a centralized training location at the Hanford Site for emergency responders and cleanup workers and has expanded over the years to include support to the complex scope of work at Hanford and numerous national programs.

Brian Vance, manager of EM’s Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office, recognized the facility’s valuable role in supporting the One Hanford cleanup mission during a special event last week celebrating the training center’s silver anniversary.

“HAMMER’s ongoing commitment to realistic, comprehensive training and constant improvement ensures our workforce has the resources and skills to do their jobs safely,” Vance said. “A demonstrated history of adaptability and meeting evolving needs with innovation and leadership means HAMMER will continue to play a key role at the Hanford Site.”

The facility covers an 88-acre campus featuring classrooms, specialized training areas and life-size props. Students are trained in a broad range of skills using hands-on activities and real-life scenarios. The center has logged more than 1 million student days — which is equivalent to the number of days students have been in class at the training center — and 72,000 course sessions in the last 25 years.

“Since the doors opened, our focus continues to be improving worker and emergency responder skills, safety and health through innovative training,” said Paul Vandervert, director of HAMMER. “Our staff, worker trainers and partners ensure we continue meeting the advancing needs of our customers.”

In addition to Hanford, HAMMER also provides expertise to local, regional, national and international programs focused on emergency response, energy restoration, law enforcement, military programs, border security and hazardous material transportation.