First responders exercise emergency plans in Richmond
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Updated: November 04, 2009 9:05 AM
Tuesday's mock emergency response exercise at the former home of the Steveston Packers will serve the city well during the Olympics and beyond, according to city spokesperson Ted Townsend.
More than 140 federal, provincial and municipal organizations participated in Exercise Gold, the third and final Olympic security exercise that will help officials coordinate duties and responsibilities in the event of a major emergency.
In Tuesday's exercise, dozens of high school youth volunteered to play the part of victims of an attack that occurred in the midst of the Olympics, allowing police and fire officials to put into practice what they've been working on in preparation for the games.
The mock scenario revolved around a radio-station organized pep rally for Canada's men's hockey team. The pep rally included a snow blowing machine, and the disaster is sparked by the introduction of a toxin to the blower, which leads to people suddenly falling ill en masse and exhibiting symptoms from vomiting to coughing and respiratory distress.
Townsend explained that when fire officials arrived at the scene, they didn't just rush out, and instead waited to formulate their response, setting up decontamination tents, and practicing as they showered off victims to ensure the contaminant wasn't spread further.
This week-long exercise is part of a larger scenario, Townsend explained, in which police were called to a home in Delta one night earlier, where they found someone working with what's suspected to be nuclear materials, and then identifying a terrorist threat incorporating the use of nuclear toxins and a plan to disrupt the games.
"The biggest challenge in terms of mounting an emergency response is making sure those agencies are able to work together in a collaborative fashion to respond to the emergency and that they're not running into each other or overlapping or duplicating efforts," Townsend said.
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