Air Guard Medics Return From Homeland Security Exercise
By Staff Sgt. Mike R. Smith
109th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. (AFPN) (4/11/2005) — More
than 20 guardsmen from the Scotia-based 109th Airlift Wing here returned
home from Newark Airport, N.J., on April 7 after participating in the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Top Officials 3 exercise.
Medics from the 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and an LC-130
Hercules flight crew with the 139th Air Group provided medical staging
and simulated medical airlift in one of five full-scale, congressionally
directed, weapons of mass destruction exercises taking place throughout
Connecticut and New Jersey.
The medics worked with local civilian responders, law enforcement and
emergency medics to process more than 70 patient volunteers from the
U.S. Coast Guard Academy, said Lt. Col. Mary Brandt, 139th AES
commander. The patients were prepared and evaluated for C-130 airlift
from a temporary medical staging facility setup in an aircraft hangar.
Additionally, the group provided training on various aeromedical
systems.
The one-day exercise included a simulated biological attack with
resulting injuries spreading to nearby counties.
As part of the exercise, people in New Jersey, Connecticut and
Washington, D.C., conducted a planned scenario, Homeland Security
officials said.
A total of 10,000 people from 27 federal agencies, and more than 200
government as well as private sector organizations participated, said
Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security secretary.
April 11, 2005
Thousands simulate terrorist attack in Northeast exercise
N.E. USA: A car bomb explodes on a crowded pier in New London,
Conn., toppling structures and spewing deadly mustard gas over attendees
at a festival.
The same day, police in Union, N.J., find an abandoned sports utility
vehicle rigged with an atomizer. No traces of biological agents are
found, but hospitals are soon overwhelmed as hundreds of residents
develop flu-like symptoms.
These terrorist scenarios didn’t occur, yet they were played out with
deadly seriousness the week of April 3 for TOPOFF-3, a $16 million
Homeland Security Department exercise designed to test the nation’s
emergency response system.
Involving nearly 10,000 federal, state and local officials, TOPOFF-3,
standing for “top officials,” is the largest counterterrorism drill ever
held in the United States.
It was intended to challenge emergency response times, test personnel
and push emergency management to its limits, Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff told reporters April 4 during an early press
conference. “We expect failure because we’re going to be seeking to push
to failure,’’ Chertoff said. “That is the best way to get ‘lessons
learned.’” Article continues at:
-- Source:
http://federaltimes.com/index2.php?S=774746
April 8, 2005
Administration ends largest counterterrorism exercise ever
WASHINGTON, DC:
The administration will spend four to six months analyzing the results
of the largest counterterrorism exercise in the nation's history before
releasing formal results, officials from the Homeland Security
Department said Friday.
The TOPOFF 3 exercise, which ended Friday, tested the ability of
participants from 27 federal agencies, state and local governments, the
private sector, nongovernmental organizations and other countries to
prevent and respond to simulated terrorist attacks.
A DHS official told Government Executive the exercise did not reveal
"glaring weaknesses that put the country in immediate harm in the near
future." Final results and recommendations will take up to six
months to process, other senior DHS officials told reporters Friday. The
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to discuss any
preliminary findings. Article continues at:
-- Source:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0405/040805c1.htm
Additional Reference:
Transcript of Background Briefing with Senior DHS Officials on TOPOFF
3
For Immediate Release
Office of the DHS Press Secretary
April 8, 2005
Can be found at:
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4444
Top Off 3
(Picture Caption: DHS
Secretary Michael Chertoff Meets Middlesex and Union County, NJ emergency
and political officials as he reviews a Top Off 3 venue at Rutgers University. ERRI CEO
and Senior Analyst Clark Staten is seen at far left/rear. Photo courtesy of DHS)
THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS
TOPOFF 3 – THIS IS AN EXERCISE -
NJ Department of Health & Senior
Services
Situational Update -- Preliminary NJ Summary During Simulation
Friday, April 8, 2005
Public Health:
-
Total sick and dead: approx. 29,000, of which approximately
10,000 dead.
-
Priority 1 has been prophylaxis.
-
All 228 state-operated PODS will be open until 11 p.m. today for
any remaining citizens/visitors.
-
We estimated to have provided antibiotics to 8 million plus New
Jersey residents and workers through Thursday night.
Medical Management/Surge Capacity:
-
Hospitals have been completely overwhelmed.
-
Earlier today the state was at zero bed availability, so we
called in federal assets, and put in paperwork for the Meadowlands
facility. That will be up and running Friday afternoon.
-
We have requested the federal government to bring in two 250-bed
field hospitals.
-
SERT (Secretary’s Emergency Response Team out of HHS) team asked
if we needed extra staff and we have provided numbers.
-
We are working with NJHA (New Jersey Hospital Association) to
assess their needs and get them assistance.
Evacuation Effort:
-
EOC was notified that we needed to activate NDMS (National
Disaster Medical System) to ship “healthy sick” patients out of state to
free up hospital beds.
-
Ambulances were activated and staged at the Meadowlands & PNC
Arts Center.
-
Hospitals that shipped patients: UMDNJ, St. Mary’s - Hoboken,
Hackensack, Holy Name, RWJ – New Brunswick, Riverview, Jersey Shore and
Tinton Falls Rehabilitation Center.
-
A total of 67 ambulances were used to move 100 patients to Newark
airport, then on to Dallas airport where they will be triaged.
-
When they are ready to come home from Texas, the receiving
facility is responsible for arranging transport and then billing the
federal government.
-
This is the first time this has ever been done in the U.S.
-
Security was increased at staging areas and Newark airport in
light of stolen ambulances, all of which have been recovered.
JFO:
-
Alert level staying at red. It will continue to be assessed
through the day today.
MISC.
-
There are no restrictions on food products and food
retailers/distributors.
06 Apr 2005
Caption: N.J. Acting governor Richard J. Codey (L), and
DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff (R), speak at a press conference at
Rutgers University. Rutgers University was the site of a POD (Point of
Distribution), where antibiotics were given citizens as a prophylactic
measure against Pneumonic Plague that was released in a simulated
terrorist attack.
(EmergencyNet News Photo,
© 2005)
06 Apr 2005
TopOff3 Exercise - EmergencyNet News Special Report
Death Toll Rise Dramatically in Bio-Terrorism Scenario
By C. L. Staten
UNION COUNTY, NJ: Even as simulated antibiotics were being distributed
to emergency responders and citizens at a number of special POD (Point
of Distribution) centers in New Jersey, the mock death toll continued to
rise. More than 3,000 people have reportedly perished in the exercise
continues in New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, Canada, and in the
United Kingdom.
Disease surveillance authorities and the FBI continued to interview
people related to those who were supposedly stricken in the terrorist
release of pneumonic plague. Based on preliminary investigations,
authorities determined that the SUV was used by the fictional terrorists
over the weekend to spray large quantities of pneumonic plague in
Middlesex and Union counties. As part of the ongoing drill, they are
probing whether at least one other truck was used to spread plague in
other parts of the state.
According to the NJ Star-Ledger, at least 27 hospitals have been flooded
with volunteers acting as seriously ill patients and in many cases had
to set up areas outside the building to treat them. At Robert Wood
Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, a triage area was set up
in an ambulance bay, and ventilators, stretchers and other medical
equipment were put in a large courtyard to handle at least 250 more
patients.
The drill is designed to analyze interagency cooperation and
communications. This is being done by overloading the various systems
with "controller prompts" which are injected into the scenario in order
to test and evaluate various parts of the entire system...from the local
level, all the way to the Dept. of Homeland Security in Washington, DC.
EmergencyNet News is live on-the-scene and will continue to provide you
with updates as the exercise continues...
10:00EDT - 05 Apr 2005
EmergencyNet News Special Report
TOPOff3 - (This is a drill - The largest counter-terrorism drill to date
in the United States)
Twin Terror Disasters Test Northeastern Responders
By C. L. Staten
UNION
COUNTY, NJ: Two major disaster struck New England yesterday. Both were
of a devastating ferocity, but in different ways. An incident in Union
County, NJ involved a black SUV, which was though to have been used in
an intentional release of a bio-agent, Yersinia pestis or pneumonic
plague by a suspected member of a simulated terrorist group. Late on
Monday, a total of
26 cases of the disease, and five deaths were reported in Union County.
That number is expected to increased on Tuesday, as the plague spreads
person-to-person.
In Connecticut, a short time later, a mock chemical release and car bomb
explosion destroyed a festival at New London waterfront. Reportedly, a
release of what was believed to be a sulfur mustard gas further
complicated and contaminated multiple simulated patients. 323 simulated
patients were involved in this scenario. More than fifty were critically
injured, and hundreds of others were less injured in the incident.
Federal officials said that more than 10,000 people will participate in
the drill, including exercises that will also involve officials in
Canada and England. EmergencyNet News will bring you additional updates
on this story as we have reporters live on the ground in New Jersey.
(Picture above: Police, Fire and Haz-Mat responders
from Union County, NJ prepare to enter the hot zone of a suspected
bio-agent release. Courtesy of Union County, NJ Emergency Management
Office -- The staff of the Emergency Response & Research Institute
(ERRI) would like to thank Union County officials for all of their
kind hospitality and assistance during our visit to their jurisdiction)
References:
|
Selected Publications,
Education & Training Materials - From CDC
|
 |
|
|
Additional reference: OSHA BEST PRACTICES for
HOSPITAL-BASED FIRST RECEIVERS
OF VICTIMS from Mass Casualty Incidents Involving the Release of
Hazardous
Substances --
http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/bestpractices/html/hospital_firstreceivers.html
Homeland Security Tests Emergency Response with TOPOFF3
April 4, 2005 – (Washington, D.C.) As part of TOPOFF 3, the largest
terrorism preparedness exercise in our nation's history, actors in New
Jersey, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. began conducting a planned
scenario of events. Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the
participation of 10,000 participants from 27 federal agencies, and more
than 200 government as well as private sector organizations. "This team
that's participating in TOPOFF 3 includes everybody from cabinet
secretaries, international partners, governors, mayors, city managers,
local fire and police, search and rescue personnel, public health and
public communications officials, and the private sector."
-- Source: DHS
01 Apr 2005
Fact Sheet: TOPOFF 3 Exercising National Preparedness
Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3) is the most comprehensive terrorism response
exercise ever conducted in the United States. Sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of State and Local
Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP), TOPOFF 3 is the third
exercise in the TOPOFF Exercise Series, a congressionally mandated
exercise program. The exercise is designed to strengthen the nation's
capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from
terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Joining
the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies in this
important effort are the states of Connecticut and New Jersey, as well
as two international partners, the United Kingdom and Canada. These
countries will conduct simultaneous, related exercises.
A Weeklong Full-Scale Exercise
The TOPOFF 3 Full-Scale Exercise (T3 FSE), which will take place from
April 4-8, 2005, is the culmination of a two-year cycle of seminars,
planning events, and exercises. The exercise will involve more than
10,000 participants representing more than 200 federal, state, local,
tribal, private sector, and international agencies and organizations, as
well as volunteer groups.
In the United States, participants will respond to attacks in
Connecticut and New Jersey. Simulated terrorist incidents will originate
in New London, Connecticut (chemical incident) and Union and Middlesex
Counties in New Jersey (biological incident). Real weapons will not be
used, yet the response will be mounted as if they had been. Numerous
federal departments and agencies will actively participate, providing a
first opportunity to validate the recently released National Response
Plan, and to exercise protocols of the National Incident Management
System. As the full international dimensions of the simulated crisis are
revealed, related exercises will take place in the United Kingdom
(ATLANTIC BLUE) and Canada (TRIPLE PLAY). Planners from all three
countries have collaborated in the exercise design to achieve shared
objectives.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE & RESEARCH INSTITUTE
(ERRI)
EmergencyNet News Services
6348 North Milwaukee Avenue - #312, Chicago, Illinois 60646
Voice/Voice
Mail: 773-631-ERRI
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