New Kensington, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington, along with some of its faculty, staff and students, played an integral role in a major weapons of mass destruction (WMD) drill on Saturday, May 1.
The event, dubbed Operation Crimson Lion, involved some 200 local emergency personnel, including ambulance, fire and EMT units, along with a Red Cross disaster relief crew, Civil Air Patrol, LifeFlight emergency helicopter, and a Haz-Mat (hazardous materials) spill management team.
The $30,000 training exercise was funded by Alcoa and sponsored by the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety, the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services, Alcoa and Penn State New Kensington. All first-responder units in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties were invited to participate.
The simulated scenario centered on biological and radiological attacks that were to have occurred in the Penn State New Kensington Field House during a basketball game. Some Penn State students portrayed victims who were exposed to hydrogen cyanide and a radioactive material that were "released" into the air, causing spectators to become ill.
Soon after campus security placed a staged 911 call for help, emergency personnel responded. Upper Burrell Township Volunteer Fire Co. 1 and New Kensington ambulances were first on the scene, followed by fire and emergency equipment and volunteers from other nearby municipalities.
Authorities set up a triage area and decontamination center. Wearing protective suits, gloves and gas masks, they carried "victims" out of the building, assessing their medical conditions and administering first aid. The mock disaster was played out over three hours.
Ron Nichols, athletic director at Penn State New Kensington, and his wife, Amy, a Penn State graduate student, were among the "victims" who staggered out of the field house on cue, coughing and crying out for help. Amy said she chose to play a critically injured victim because she wanted to help her community and "I just like drama."
Jamie Mackay, an environmental health and safety manager for Alcoa Technical Center, which sent its fire brigade to the event, said the exercise is a valuable tool for learning how to react in an actual emergency.
"You can do all the reading and bookwork you want, but until you get out and practice, you're not fully prepared," she said.
Dee O'Hara, nursing instructor at the campus and member of the campus safety and security committee, said she was attending the exercise to learn how organization and standards of practice used by first-responders can relate to the University community.
"We have a lot of resources available in the event of an emergency," O'Hara said. "We still have to address the protocol of caring for people first. We need to be prepared through education and prevention. This will be a good way to evaluate our preparedness."
Jason Bush, director of business and finance at Penn State New Kensington and one of the event's organizers, said the exercise also was a good opportunity for local emergency personnel to familiarize themselves with the campus.
A small group of student Lion Ambassadors, cast as parents of the injured students, offered some suggestions based on their observations during the drill. A meteorology major, Dennis Lane, said the emergency workers also needed to consider the potential for contamination outside the campus perimeter, since it was a windy day.
Accounting student Joe Hudeck, corporate communications major Matt Zidek and education major Shannon Lloyd all pointed out that security should have prohibited them as "concerned parents" from entering the decontamination area, risking contamination themselves.
"I think it's remarkable how all these units become one. It's good to see a plan coming together," said Larry Pollock, campus executive officer at Penn State New Kensington, as he watched the events unfold. "We're very happy that Alcoa asked us to participate, and we appreciate everyone's efforts."
To prepare for the full-scale drill, participants from various organizations completed 12 hours of classroom training to prepare them to deal with issues they could expect to encounter during a terrorist incident.
Kathy Yandura, spokeswoman for Alcoa, said that funding for the drill and training program was provided by Alcoa through its Alcoa Relief Fund, established in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist events.
For photos, visit http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2004_05_03_drill/index.html