http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20050323-9999-1mi23drill.html
Terrorism response team's drill goes well By Angela Lau UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER March 23, 2005 DEL MAR – Behind the simulated explosions and mock chemical weapon attacks yesterday morning was one message: The region's terrorism response team is training hard to be ready. A drill staged by the San Diego Metropolitan Medical Strike Team at the Del Mar Fairgrounds went smoothly. A make-believe nerve gas device was deactivated. Pretend hostages were rescued and treated. "The team was established in response to the Oklahoma City federal building bombing and the (gas attack) at a Tokyo subway station," David Ott, co-director of the strike team, said of the 1995 incidents. "It was a wake-up call for us and the federal government. We realized this could happen anywhere," he said. "We have military assets here: Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, SeaWorld – highly visible public areas. We have the ocean on one side and the border to the south that open us to attacks." The strike team is the only terrorism response group in the county, said team member Andy Menshek. It began operating in 1999, well before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Team members are trained to handle weapons of mass destruction, which include chemical weapons. The team is funded by county money and federal grants, and consists of more than 200 law enforcement, fire, public health and medical officials from around the county. Although its full name indicates a focus on medical rescue, law enforcement officials play critical roles in clearing the attack site for medical response, Menshek said. Member agencies include the San Diego Police and Fire-Rescue Departments, the county Sheriff's Department, the joint San Diego city-county Hazardous Incident Response Team and the local FBI. Other municipalities also are represented. Yesterday's drill was one of at least four held each year. The practice began with an imaginary terrorist taking hostages and setting off a possible nerve gas device in an exhibit building. The strike team sent San Diego Police SWAT members, clad in protective suits and breathing apparatus, to blast open an entrance to the building. Simulated gunfire was heard and the imaginary suspect, who was never seen by the audience, was killed. Injured hostages who could still walk were escorted to a nearby firetruck and rinsed with water to prevent presumed chemicals that had adhered to their bodies from contaminating others. Meanwhile, a phony bomb placed by the terrorist outside the building was detonated, causing a small blast that was blocked out by earplugs given to the audience ahead of time. Firefighters in protective suits and breathing devices carried out a "hostage" who was too injured to walk. She was scrubbed and washed with water in a specially constructed tent that contains runoff. She was then taken to a hospital for treatment. Dr. Ted Chan, co-director of the medical segment of the strike team, said medical personnel can handle hundreds of victims at a time and there are enough special medications to treat them. In the finale of the exercise, strike team members wearing the heaviest kind of protective suits approached the chemical weapon, made of dry ice, yellow dye and soapy water, and collected samples. The device was then doused and neutralized with a chemical foam. The team has staged drills at the Naval Training Center and Qualcomm and will practice one more time at the fairgrounds later this year, Menshek said. Drills on cruise ships also are being planned, he said. ------------------------ Yahoo! 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