First responders stage largest disaster drill since 9/11 at World Trade Center PATH s

[Trainspotter]

Thankfully, it was only a test.

 

"Wounded" straphangers staggered out of a smoke-filled train station Sunday morning as hundreds of firefighters and cops raced to respond to an explosion in a tunnel under the Hudson.

 

More than 800 first responders, plus dozens of volunteers who pretended to be injured or dead, participated in the largest interagency training drill since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

 

Firefighters carried oxygen tanks, hoses and axes into the underground PATH station, while NYPD and Port Authority cops helped "survivors" flee the disaster near the site of the former World Trade Center.

 

The drill, which was modeled after the July 2005 subway bombings in London, was designed to test communications among the different agencies.

 

"We have a better system now," said Joseph Pfeifer, the chief of counterterrorism for the FDNY. "Things are very different today than on 9/11."

 

At precisely 8:01 a.m., the drill called for the simulation of a bomb's detonation on a train between Manhattan and New Jersey. The victims, many wearing makeup simulating bloody injuries, were then stranded on the train about 1,200 feet from the Ground Zero station.

 

Their plight was relayed to emergency responders by a series of realistic 911 calls and panic-stricken dispatches from injured PATH train conductors.

 

"If we're going to make mistakes, we want to make them here," said Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler. "We want to learn from them [and] we want to build them into our plans."

 

Although officials bought TV ads, plastered posters to the walls of train stations and put out alerts through the media, some travelers were still surprised at the massive mobilization.

 

"I had to do a double take," said Iman Hayes, 12, of Brooklyn, who came across the hundreds of responders treating the wounded victims.

 

"It was shocking and surprising at the same time."

 

BY Joe Kemp

DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, May 18th 2009

[Smoot178]

Amazing.

[MTR Admiralty]

Wow. I wonder, is it possible that this could be on tape?

[R32 3348]

This was a good idea. Something similar should be done on NYC Subway proerty, since we all know how good the is with communication.

[metsfan]

Incredible, i had no idea they were planning on staging an attack to respond to. :eek:

 

I totally overheard OEM general manager talk to the hudson news kiosk owner about this not too long ago, 8 am, sunday etc, but i had no clue it was going to be this thorough, or this successful! :eek::tup:

 

Jeeze, it's going to make the ride into WTC different tomorrow for me knowing they did all this just 2 days before! :eek:

 

- A

[MTR Admiralty]

This was a good idea. Something similar should be done on NYC Subway proerty, since we all know how good the is with communication.

That is true, besides the subway is previously and may as well be a target for those demented crooks. For the subway though, they should simulate an attack during rush hour, to really prove the effective of a response in any situation.

[metsfan]

That is true, besides the subway is previously and may as well be a target for those demented crooks. For the subway though, they should simulate an attack during rush hour, to really prove the effective of a response in any situation.

 

I agree. Only way to do the drill is when system is under max real life load.

 

- A

[MTR Admiralty]

I agree. Only way to do the drill is when system is under max real life load.

 

- A

It doesn't have to take place during rush hour, because that will mess everything up. But say, shut down Herald Square for like a couple hours one weekend and have like 500 volunteers dressed as victims. The drills should test readiness against biological, chemical and radioactive agents, as well as a typical bombing.

[metsfan]

It doesn't have to take place during rush hour, because that will mess everything up. But say, shut down Herald Square for like a couple hours one weekend and have like 500 volunteers dressed as victims. The drills should test readiness against biological, chemical and radioactive agents, as well as a typical bombing.

 

Oh no no no, in real life it will be more than one station, and it would be in many locations, including in tunnels, during peak hours. It's gotta be done or "they" will do it & it will be for real & who knows what might happen as far as response. :confused: :cry:

 

I'd be up for (NJT) to do this also, i don't think i'd mind an unannounced drill to be honest. As long as it was planned thoroughly & didn't interrupt me doing something important like going to make a payment to capitol one (which has no branches anywhere near PA) before the cutoff time.

 

- A

[MTR Admiralty]

Oh no no no, in real life it will be more than one station, and it would be in many locations, including in tunnels, during peak hours. It's gotta be done or "they" will do it & it will be for real & who knows what might happen as far as response. :confused: :cry:

 

I'd be up for (NJT) to do this also, i don't think i'd mind an unannounced drill to be honest. As long as it was planned thoroughly & didn't interrupt me doing something important like going to make a payment to capitol one (which has no branches anywhere near PA) before the cutoff time.

 

- A

 

One station itself is a big deal. Having to do a mock drill costs money. And a real simulation of a rush hour scenario at multiple stations would cost more dollars. A simulation at one station gives the emergency workers an idea of what a real attack would look like, even if there are multiple attacks, à la 5 July 2006.

The NJT should do it as well, like at stations like Newark Penn, Newark Broad, Secascus Junction, New York Penn, Hoboken etc...

 

You must announce a drill. If New Yorkers, or any urban American, see a swarm of emergency vehicles around a particular site and smoke billowing from God-knows-where, they would freak out. What would the media write? Don't forget some people can suffer from a heart attack. Remember the time when the steam pipe burst in Manhattan? Everyone went frantic, one person died from a heart attack. The public should at least know what is going on. You just can't let them be ignorant to such events. This is not a fire-drill, where people just evacuate on a certain time. This is a real disaster drill.

[INDman]

This was a good idea. Something similar should be done on NYC Subway property, since we all know how good the is with communication.

 

It has been done several times in the subway. They used the Broad Street station on the for this maybe 3 years ago. Also, the FDNY training facility at Randal's Island had a subway station with a few subways cars where they practice for all sorts of things from one unders and space cases to fires and derailments. The NYPD has several subway cars too and the ESU training center at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. Here they also train for rescues and recoveries since it is the police that remove dead bodies from under trains or from between the train and a wall or platform. The NYPD ESU also trains for hostage situations on-board trains. From what I have heard, it is the that does not train its people enough on how to deal with these situations though the unions have been asking for it.

[MTR Admiralty]

The NYPD ESU also trains for hostage situations on-board trains. From what I have heard, it is the that does not train its people enough on how to deal with these situations though the unions have been asking for it.

 

Prepping up for real-life "Taking of the Pelham 123", eh?

[INDman]

Yep, ESU is ready for anything except an "active shooter" scenario like what happened in India. I think they now have an R32 in addition to the redbirds.