Posted on 11/09/2009 8:00:55 AM PST by TaraP
LAKE IN THE HILLS – Citizens infected with a fictitious pneumonic plague will line up outside Lincoln Prairie Elementary School on Saturday to help test the site as a medication dispensary in case of an emergency.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department is carrying out the test as part of a grant from the McHenry County Department of Health for its emergency health plan. In case of a biological terrorist attack or widespread disease outbreak, the site would be able get medicine to the community, Lake in the Hills Chief of Patrol Services David Brey said.
“This is just a functional test of the site,” he said.
The event will use volunteers pretending to have been stricken by the plague to help test the flow of the site, from initial triage through receiving proof of being medicated.
“We picked the plague on purpose so it would have nothing to do with the swine flu,” Brey said.
The test will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at Lincoln Prairie, 500 Harvest Gate, across from Lake in the Hills Village Hall.
After they line up will all the students be told that Islam is definitely NOT to blame?
October 21st, 2009
Smallpox, botulism and the bubonic plague struck Cape Coral Tuesday - all part of a training exercise to help local fire and EMS crews learn how to deal with biological attacks.
The Emergency Medicine Learning and Resource Center’s mobile simulation lab brought together Cape fire and Lee County EMS personnel at the old public safety building, putting the first responders through intense drills to help them recognize uncommon afflictions that could be the result of terrorist attacks
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/511458.html?nav=5011
Considering the fear that the ‘swine flu’ in the Ukraine is actually the pnuemonic plague, this is a little eery.
I know that docs have said “no no no, it’s swine flu that’s killed dozens of people out of the blue’, but still. I don’t like the idea of it. Once you show symptoms, you are pretty much screwed.
Santee Cooper to hold terror drill
Monday, November 9, 2009
MONCKS CORNER — Santee Cooper will test its law enforcement and security response and action plan for the Pinopolis Dam at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday during a drill involving a fake terrorist strike.
Santee Cooper to hold terror drill
Monday, November 9, 2009
MONCKS CORNER — Santee Cooper will test its law enforcement and security response and action plan for the Pinopolis Dam at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday during a drill involving a fake terrorist strike.
The incident is meant to evaluate response and communication regarding a major incident at the dam.
Participating agencies include the Berkeley County Sheriffs Office, State Law Enforcement Division, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Moncks Corner Police Department, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Highway Patrol, Berkeley County Emergency Management, Moncks Corner Rural Fire Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Sounds like a repeat of the “duck and cover” stuff from the early 60’s; and just about as useful!
I know- Wonder what is really going on in the Ukraine...
Here is this from Nov 7th..
Ukraine: Influenza or Pneumonic Plague?
Ukrainian News Agency “Fraza” reported that, according to informed sources, “it has been confirmed 100 % Pneumonic Plague in Ukraine”.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/ukraine-influenza-or-pneumonic-plague
The Agency asserts that “the head physician of the medical institutions has sent out an informal disposal - not to sow panic, to refute the information about the plague, and to speak only of swine influenza”.
According to the “Fraza” agency, “today in Ukraine pneumonic plague is going in parallel with swine flu. The plague has killed over 60 people, and about 14 from the flu.
Next week, the “duck under the desk atomic bomb” drill
IMO- The condition of the world, anything is possible especially if it’s strange, bizarre and un-american...
SANTA FE, N.M., June 5 (UPI) -- An 8-year-old boy from Santa Fe County, N.M., has died from the bubonic plague and his 10-year-old sister is undergoing treatment, health officials say.The New Mexico Department of Health says these are the first human plague cases this year in the United States. New Mexico's last plague death was in Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, in 2007.
In the latest case, the boy, whose name was withheld, died within the past few days, Deborah Busemeyer, health department communications director, told the Albuquerque Journal.
Bubonic plague is not contagious, Busemeyer said, but rather a bacterial disease of rodents generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas. But, she said, it can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including pets, rodents and wildlife.
(FR pet peeve: Local stories without identifying state. You can check the state as a topic in the news forum or add it as a keyword in the others. Due to interest in the topic, I looked up the source and added Illinois to the list.)
PING - Curious that this is just a test over here while the Ukranian news reports that pneumonic plague is running rampant over there.
Also, keep up with other H1N1 update stories on this thread: H1N1 flu victim collapsed on way to hospital [Latest H1N1 updates downthread] thanks to DvdMom and others.
Mock drills like this one serve the purpose of conditioning the citizenry and have become an everyday sort of adopting to our changing social climate; from reality TV shows like COPS and dramatic raw reenactments of justice-based shows like Law and Order to cameras on every street corner and inside every shop.
We feel the heavy presence of impending doom and the soft-gloved hand of the omnipresent and all-powerful government poised overhead to snatch us from our nests and cast us all about.
The hot breath of oppression blows away the comforting cool breezes of freedom sinking slowly under the shifting sands of reason, in search of the shelter of inaction.
And so, we slink and sulk, sucking in the darkness that smothers our will as we await the passing of the lumbering hulk with soot-covered faces toward the inky sky — and dream a new day will bring relief, rushing in upon the puff of a freshly-washed spring morning made brilliant by the cleansing dawn.
I've participated in more than one of these exercises. They do have their uses. Remember the anthrax debacle after 9-11?
This is one thing I expect Government to take damned seriously. If they don't practice the plan, how are they supposed to find the flaws in it?
Biological, curious that is; what are the capture, containment procedures involved or detection, confirmation protocols?
Are these exercices disruptive or subtle?
Have you noticed any residual character/role-model changes among participants?
Value?
The exercises that I've helped to plan and carry out involved the distribution of prophylactic medications and the assumption was that the agent had already been identified. My part started after the bio-alarms had been sounded. So I'm afraid I can't give you much information about that. Sorry.
I can tell you that there are some rather sophisticated monitoring devices already in place which can make an initial identification. Once that happens things move pretty fast.
Are these exercices disruptive or subtle?
The ones I was involved in I wouldn't say were 'disruptive' nor were they 'subtle'. My County has a cadre of trained 'professional victims' who are put in place (almost 100 in the exercises I was involved in) were thoroughly briefed on the scenario.
Representatives from the Feds, State, and local governments are on hand, exercise 'controllers' and evaluators are on hand to critique things, cops, firemen, OEM types, and the press was informed. It's kind of hard to keep that quiet.
Two major Postal facilities were involved albeit on a Sunday when they were normally closed.
Have you noticed any residual character/role-model changes among participants?
Not really. As I said I've been involved in several aspects from planning and execution to a participant and have had a fairly unique opportunity to evaluate it from several angles.
Value?
I'd say they're worth the time and effort. I'd rather they have some sort of plan that had actually been exercised a few times so at least we've got something that we know is workable in the event of a bio-event. Were they perfect? Nope. Did they need some tweaking? Absolutely.
But that's the point of exercises. You formulate a plan, then you exercise it to see what does and doesn't work, then you refine the plan, then you exercise it, and the cycle repeats.
Let me know if you'd like to know anything more. I'll give you what information I can.
Best,
L
Much better on-the-ground type exposition than that which emanates from the mass-media mouthwash mishmash usually thrown out there every morning.
It does distress one to think we may wake up one morning and find ourselves trapped within our doors and not even know how or why.
It has always struck me that one of the great efficacies of terrorism is the silent but omnipresent threat instilled through relentless intimidation and the enervation that often results.
In the end, terror is a crippling emotion.
How does one avoid encouraging the terrorist when practicing public preparations for reaction to such perceived threats?
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