"Airport Emergency Exercise Has Serious Overtones"

Thursday, October 31, 2002

EMERGENCY EXERCISE HAS SERIOUS OVERTONES
By WALT KITA
The Connecticut Post


The emergency Wednesday was staged, but the script was frighteningly
realistic.

The scenario: Two men, possibly terrorists, hijack a tanker truck carrying a
hazardous chemical and then crash it into a waiting charter jet at Sikorsky
Memorial Airport.

Thousands of gallons of the chemical spill onto the runway, releasing a
toxic plume that quickly overcomes all who inhale it.

With more than 30 victims strewn on the ground, police, fire and rescue
personnel from throughout greater Bridgeport rush to the scene, each with a
specific job to perform, but all working together to end the crisis.

That was the backdrop for a disaster drill that began just after 9 a.m.
Wednesday and concluded hours later at Bridgeport and St. Vincent's
hospitals, where the "victims" portrayed by a group of drama students from
Bunnell High School were treated for their injuries.

"The purpose of the drill wasn't to test the people, but to test our
disaster management plan," said Scott Appleby, Bridgeport's director of
emergency services. "In a real emergency, all the different emergency
services have to be coordinated. Overall, I was satisfied with the result."

That does not mean, however, that there isn't room for improvement, he said,
noting that more drills are planned for the future.

Wednesday's exercise ended with the hijackers being apprehended by police.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency require periodic testing and evaluation of community mass-casualty
plans, especially those of metropolitan areas where the damage from a
potential catastrophe would be multiplied.

The drill initially had the feel of a dress rehearsal, as the players in the
impending drama milled about the airport's main terminal waiting for their
cues.

Many of the student victims passed the time discussing how they planned to
approach their roles.

Bunnell junior William Jones, 17, planned to employ a little method acting
for an authentic performance. He was assigned the role of playing a victim
overcome by a headache and nausea.

"I've had headaches before, so I'll probably just try to call that up," said
Jones. "Actors have to use their own experiences all the time."

On the runway, a charter jet and a tanker truck were positioned so that the
truck's cab was a foot or so from the airplane's fuselage.

Finally, one of the coordinators of the drill shouted, "Bring out the
victims!"

The students took their places, some lying prone while others stumbled about
in feigned disorientation.

Someone opened a valve on the side of the truck, releasing a flood of water
that had been dyed a pale yellow-green. The scenario called for the truck to
be carrying the industrial chemical acrylonitrile, which is related to
cyanide.

The drill required the Fairfield County Hazardous Material squad, or HAZMAT,
to identify the toxic substance based on tests done in the field and by
observing the victims' symptoms.

"In a real disaster involving a chemical, it takes time to identify the
material, which complicates the job of caring for the injured," said Sandy
Brophy of the Connecticut Hospital Association, one of the experts assigned
to evaluate the effectiveness of the drill.

Brophy was at Bridgeport Hospital when the first victim arrived from the
"hot zone" about 30 minutes after the accident. Dressed in a white
protective "bunny" suit, the victim was decontaminated in a portable shower
set up outside the emergency room entrance.

Doctors and nurses wearing yellow gowns, face masks and eye shields
assembled at the doors to perform triage and bring the patients inside.

"The idea is to act quickly, assess the situation, and get them the
appropriate treatment once you know exactly what you're dealing with," said
Dr. Michael Werdmann, the hospital's director of emergency services. "The
last thing you want to do is bring some agent into the hospital that's going
to hurt the other patients."

Attached Photo:

Aiding "victims": Stratford firefighters, wearing protective masks, tend to
victims during a mock disaster at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford
Wednesday.

sikorsky.jpg