Ready For The Worst:
LIC Terror Drill Kills 40, Injures 90
On October 17, a beautiful Sunday morning, the peace and quiet was shattered by an explosion that took the doors and roof off a vehicle, slamming it into a bus near the CitiCorp building in Long Island City. Bodies and body parts were strewn everywhere, mingling with metal and glass debris that blew from the car and bus in the explosion. With smoke coming from the burning vehicle sirens were heard in the distance. Within minutes emergency vehicles swarmed the scene of the suspected terrorist attack in Long Island City, a strategic operations center was established and units were assessing the damage and helping the injured. This was all, thankfully, just a wellcrafted exercise designed to test emergency response to an actual incident. Each of the 80 victims were dressed and madeup to challenge emergency services. EMS, fire fighters and police had to make onthe-spot triage decisions while operating in a life-threatening environment. The four-hour simulation involved more than 800 City agency personnel who responded to the scene at the intersection of 44th Drive and Hunter Road, where the car exploded beside an MTA bus picking up passengers. According to the simulation, 40 people were killed and 90 others injured. Not long after the simulated explosion, as smoke was still coming from the destroyed car, first responders began to ar-
rive on the scene. A second simulated explosion took place shortly after at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, although actual tunnel operations were not disrupted as in the other location. In both cases, mannequins were used to represent fatalities and volunteers wearing make up playing the role of injured survivors. Each movement of this simulated car bomb drill was observed, documented and assessed by dozens of trained observers from the different emergency services participating in the exercise. Following the exercise, which lasted about two hours, Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joe Bruno was joined by FDNY, American Red Cross, the Medical Examiner, Dept. of Health, the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit and other agencies to evaluate the response. “We are exercising a plan we hope we never have to use,” Bruno said. “However, it is our responsibility to make sure New York City is prepared for the worst, and by training in an environment that is as real as possible, all of our agencies and partners learn what we already do right, and what we can improve on.” That sentiment was shared by FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. “Our members train and drill every day to make sure they are ready to respond to any incident, including mass casualty incidents like today’s drill,” he said. A full assessment of the simulation and first responder actions will be made in an effort to improve future training.
The remnants of the “car bomb” in Long Island City.
As observers watch, firefighters remove one of the “bodies” from the explosion area.
Photos by Dan Miller
Page 10 PRESS of Southeast Queens Nov. 5-11, 2010
BY DAN MILLER
First responders assess the dead (mannequins) and dying (volunteers).