NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
|
|
THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
CITY TO PARTICIPATE IN REGION-WIDE EMERGENCY PLANNING DRILL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that the City of Harrisburg’s will be participating in “Exercise Wide Vigilance,” a major emergency planning drill being conducted this Saturday, October 14, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The drill will involve over 2,200 emergency response personnel and 700 “victims” of multiple undisclosed terrorist attacks. Reed said the massive exercise, the largest of its type ever conducted in the midstate, is being conducted by the South Central Pennsylvania Regional Counter- Terrorism Task Force(SCTF) and involves personnel from Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties. The exercise will focus on emergency response simulations at the midstate’s three military installations (Letterkenny Army Depot, Defense Distribution Center-Susquehanna in New Cumberland and Fort Indiantown Gap). Simulated mass casualties will be taken to 16 area hospitals and all eight midstate County emergency operations centers will be open and operating. The Mayor said area residents and motorists are likely to see elements of the exercise throughout the morning and that traffic delays are likely in some cases, especially around area hospitals. There is no need to be alarmed or concerned with the heightened emergency responder activity that some may see, the mayor cautioned. Reed said many members of the city’s Emergency Management team will be participating in the exercise, and that city fire and police units will also be called into action during the drill. “This is an important exercise,” said the Mayor, “that will help to prepare emergency response personnel from throughout the region for the unthinkable. We urge midstaters to be aware of the exercise and appreciate the voluntary efforts of their fellow neighbors who are participating in the drill. If we should ever find ourselves in the midst of major attack or other disaster, the skills and lessons learned from this exercise will play a major role in our future responses, and most importantly, in saving lives.” Reed said the South Central PA Regional Counter-Terrorism Task Force was formed in 1997 and is responsible for the development of a regional homeland security strategy and response plan to supplement local and county response efforts. Funding for the exercise is being provided by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. |
|