A big response drill happened here over the weekend. Sounds like everyone's getting their act together. The Firefighters and Police can apparently communicate together now with improved radio technology. Unlike the mismatched frequencies and equipment they had on 9-11.

Here's the report from the NY Yimes:

Mock Terror Attack Response Provides Training for Disaster
by PATRICK HEALY, New York Times
Published: March 15, 2004

With the specter of coordinated terrorist bombings on railroads in Madrid looming in the background, New York City staged one of the largest mock terrorist attacks in the nation at Shea Stadium yesterday morning.

The drill began at 11 a.m., when the city's Office of Emergency Management detonated an unspecified type of fake weapon of mass destruction inside the stadium. Soon after, fire trucks and ambulances straggled through gridlock in the parking lot toward the stadium, while rescuers inside coped with fake rubble and terrorist suspects as they rushed mock victims to safety.

It was the 40th time that New York City had staged such a drill. The commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, Joseph F. Bruno, said the more than 1,000 police, fire and rescue workers at the scene performed ably.

As an example, Mr. Bruno said the police had been able to detect and disable two mock radiological weapons hidden in the stadium's parking lot. He also said response times appeared swift.

At a news conference yesterday afternoon, Mr. Bruno and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the three-hour drill was part of a series of attempts to gauge how New York agencies are prepared to respond to a terrorist attack, and how well they communicate during such a crisis.

"I think it went very well," Mr. Bruno said. "This drill was planned long before what happened in Madrid, but what happened in Madrid tells us how important it is." He was referring to last week's bombings.

Yesterday's demonstration, though vivid, left several questions unanswered. City officials could not say how they would evacuate the stadium if it were filled to capacity or how emergency vehicles could maneuver through a parking lot filled with frantic drivers trying to get out.

"You can never have the right script for a specific emergency," Mr. Bloomberg said.

In light of the Madrid bombings, Mr. Bruno said his agency would look at the subways as it stages mock attacks in the future.

It took more than five months, 1,000 emergency responders and 1,000 fake victims (mostly Fire Department cadets and auxiliary police officers) to pull off yesterday's drill, officials of the Office of Emergency Management said.

The result of all this preparation resembled something from a Jerry Bruckheimer soundstage. Overhead, helicopters swung across the cloudy sky. Whiffs of smoke drifted from the corridors of the stadium while a clot of "victims" paced up and down the stadium's ramps like a confused millipede.

In the shadow of the stadium, police officers arrested suspects in the mock attack. Emergency medical workers treated the injured, who were wrapped in Red Cross blankets. Officials with the city's Department of Environmental Protection set up computers a safe distance away and scanned the air for toxins.

If that was a real attack it would be a mess. For the first time in history of NYC volunteer ambulance (Corona) was in charge of traiage since they were first on the scene (they are doing stand by for games). As per NYC standard operating procedures Fire Dept should have taken over but they never did (huge violation). There was no Hazmat Truck in sight. People were getting tagged wrong. Again it was a big mess. But I guess you can't fix what is broken if you have no clue what it is in the first place. They let few people take off and try to get into hospitals in order to "contaminate" the facilities but they were stopped by security guards which came back to work and contaminated others even if they didn't let the source in. But it was a good excercise and a lot of fun.

Matt

Yep, it was!! (Got my hat)
I was net Control for the NYC ARES Net supporting Satern (sic) and the Salvation Army. They had 2 canteens down there (one with the Red Package, one with the Blue). We had 2 operators with each canteen, plus 2 with the supevisors in their vehicles. I started out about a block from the "Blue" staging area, and then was brought down with the canteen about 1:30 (I could check the log).

From _OUR_ point of view (aka OUR stuff) went well. SA drilled with normal comms out - we did all their comms, I did a "repeater out" drill - we went simplex. All worked well - we even put out a small REAL fire (box caught on fire - a pitcher of non dairy creamer in time saved nine

Speaking of New Yorkers in General, I Wonder how Much of the same "Spiritedness" the Drill would have had, -If Madrid had *Not* just recently Happened a Little Before!? Would there have been More "Oh Well!,-Another Drill !,....", Sort of "So So"-edness"?!

Madrid is also Not the First "Next Thing" following 9-11. The Recent Air France Flights were such, and even they may Not have been the First! The Shoe Bomber is just One which Comes to Mind. And Oh Yes, the Anthrax sort of Terrorism.

On at least One of those recent Air France cancellations / postponements, At least one Scheduled Passenger did Not Show Up! I know there are sometimes No Shows for a Flight in any event. But This One(s) Aroused Suspicions. Spooked from Boarding by our Security and Suspicions.

Otherwise, This or the Other Recent Cancelled Flights could Have Been a Second 9-11 Effort.

How Many Other such Things may we have Successfully Prevented and Thwarted?! It was Said Up Front, that Not every Battle would be in the Public Eye. Where we Have Foiled Things so, This is a Measure of our Success. (Silent Success)

We've Got to Be as Alertly and Ardently *Into* This!, -Thru All the Most Boring and Humdrum Moments of the "Game"!, -were we to so compare it to a Game. NOT Only when we *See* a Big, Critical Play at Hand! And Not Only when we're within the 10 Yard Line! Not Only within or Near the End of the 4th Quarter!

We're in This For the Duration! This *Doesn't* Mean "We've had Enuf of this Today!", or "This is No Longer Comfortable!"

As with WW -2, We're Only Now at the Seigfried / "Phony" War Stages! This Only Equates to Dec *8*, 1941! -NOT a V-E or V-J Day! We're Still in 41-42 Phillipines!, -*Not* Aboard the USS. Missourri in Tokyo Harbor!, to Receive our Modern Day Terrorist Surrender!

I Ain't Yet Heard Anything about our War on Terrorism, our Fight for our Very Survival!, -Being Over Yet!!!

And so my Flag Remains Up, in my Window, as it Has on Every Day, since Sept. 11th. Unlike so Many Others. Could you Picture Osama & Co. Now!, saying "You Can't Even Keep your Flags Up!, -Never Forget!, -Don't Make Make us Laugh!" And at least here, -They would be somewhat Right! We Hand them That!

Anybody could be a Sunshine Patriot Back Then! But we are to be Rain Ones too!

(Now on Normalcy, I've Returned to a general Normalcy also! And Do Not Live Every Moment in Sept. 11th. I've Felt More of a Need for a Substantial Return to Normalcy, in those Immeadiate Post 9-11 Weeks and Months, than Many! So it's Not an Ignoreance of "Due Normalcy" on my Part. "Back to Normalcy". As Normally as it can Duly be! Which Isn't totally "Back to the Way it Was!" I Do and Have Done Such!)

But if we've had somewhat Too Much Day In, Day Out, Thinking and "Remembering" Back Then!, -We've Got somewhat Too Little of It Since and Now! Somewhat Too Much Forgetting / "Oh Welling" / and "So-So"ing! And somewhat Too Little Remembering and Being "Ever On the Alert!"

We're a Long Way yet from the 4th Quarter! So We've of course *Gotta* Keep the Same Sort of "Immeadiate Aftermath" Resolve Up!, -Now and to Come! As at Any Time Immeadiately Following Sept. 11th.

(Very Quickly and Briefly, -The Three "We Must Do's!" -National Security and Defense, the General Moral Act, and the General Economic Act!) ("Love One Another!" and Sci-Tech, Can be Added to That!)

Americans have Got a Notoriously Short Memory! This is One of the Greatest Things that our Long Range Thinking Enemies, Have Got *Going* for them! One of America's Main Problems, -is that It is Always Unduly / Overly Wanting to Go Home! Pretty Babyish of U.S.!, for One Thing!

9-11 is Never to Become "So Last Week / Month / or Year!"

Suggestion!, my Fellow Americans. -Be somewhat Into *This*!, as say you may be Into Britney! That Same Steady, Strong, No Bones, Attention and Dedication!

We're Nowhere yet Near that Fourth Quarter!, -Let Alone At, Near, or Within Sight Of!, it's End!

Question;- Is the U.S. in any Measure Entertaining any Notion of V-E or V-J!, -Here in our Modern Day Dec 41 and Jan 42 of our Very Start! -Sheesh! -If we Are!

Our Modern Day Afghan "Guadalcanal" Achievement!, is Yet a *Long* Way Off!, from our Present Day Tokyo Goals! As Poet Robert Frost so Well Put It, -"Miles to Go Before we Sleep!" We are In This For the Duration.

So with Samesuch Occurrances such as Madrid or No!, We're to Remain On Guard and Into This! As at any Other "Sweet" or "Visibly Pressing", Moments of the Task!

With This Thread, and our Other Thread on How Few New Yorkers, Let Alone Anyone Else!, are Really Prepared! -I'm Wondering how this Recent Drill would have been Largely Viewed and Received!, Had we just NOT Had our Recent Madrid Reminder, -to Again Spur U.S. On!

(This is How my Observation and Urgeing here is Relevant to Preparedness.) [color:"black"] [/color] [email]etehiver[/email]

Well, my flag is down until the weather gets better and I can put a new flag pole mount up - the old one ripped out of the wall during a storm last year

That's a Good Enuf Reason! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]kc2ixe[/email]

Sounds like most of the MCI drills I have been invovled in.

The point is to learn the weak areas and improve. The most common problems are communications between agencies. Second is getting the right/best resource in the best/right place. Everyone who participates learns something. Those who think it an MCI drill will go off without a hitch is fooling themselves.