City prepares for real-life disaster through drill

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- An explosion rocked volleyball courts just south

of the Pier last week, sending hundreds of beachgoers running, screaming

and wailing in panic.

Well, sort of.

The explosion was fake, the beachgoers volunteers and the disaster an

orchestrated drill to examine how the city and surrounding agencies would

deal with an incident involving weapons of mass destruction.

“This is the first full-scale drill of this type this year,” said

Michael Forgy, of the U.S. Department of Justice, who served as the

exercise’s executive manager. “The number one goal is to increase

preparedness in local and area authorities for a large emergency, be it a

result of terrorism or a weather-related event.”

The justice department provided funds for training, tabletop

discussion and other resources involved in the exercise as part of a

nationwide program for 120 of the country’s largest cites.

The May 23 drill was a simulation in terrorism, hinging on a toolbox

bomb supposedly filled with the chemical Lewisite, a greasy brown liquid

that causes blistering, stinging eyes and other harmful effects.

Firefighters set up a decontamination zone for victims, who stripped

down to swimsuits before they were sprayed with water and given coverings

fashioned out of black trash bags.

Gloria Morrison, of the city’s emergency operations center, said about

200 volunteers from Westminster High School, the citizen’s emergency

response team and other groups were given makeup lesions set out on the

sand.

Dozens of agencies, including city police, fire and hazardous material

personnel, as well as county emergency services and area hospitals,

participated in the simulation.

Fire officials said aspects of the drill weren’t true to life for

practical purposes.

In real life, emergency services personnel would set up their

operations farther away from the beach than its parking lot, and about

50,000 people not a few hundred, would typically attend volleyball

tournaments, they said.

“It was interesting to watch the whole thing unfold,” said

Councilwoman Debbie Cook, who observed the drill from the Huntington

Beach Pier. “Part of the process now is figuring out [how] the agencies

worked together, and improving on any glitches.”

Anaheim and Santa Ana held similar drills last year, though last

week’s drill was a first for Surf City. Officials also invited

representatives from other cities slated for the drill exercise later

this year.

“I thought it was very well organized and think these drills are

valuable learning tools,” said Lt. Frank Johnston, sent from the police

force of the City of Stockton in Northern California. “The ability to

coordinate emergency efforts not only between law enforcement,

firefighters and medical teams, but also agencies of different

jurisdictions to bring help as quickly as possibility is imperative.”

“It was pretty fun and pretty real,” said 15-year-old Westminster High

student June Duong, wet and draped in a trash bag after running through

the decontamination process. “It’s nice to know they have the practice

for this stuff, in case it ever happens.”

Duong was herded onto an ambulance with other mock-survivors and taken

to an area hospital for treatment.

“And the trash bags rule,” she shouted as she left.