Birch Bay Drill

As an intern for IGCR I had the opportunity to participate in an emergency drill in Birch Bay, Washington. The drill was created around the idea that a terrorist attack occurred at Camp Horizon. The scenario is as follows:

*Excercise*
A terrorist attack has occurred at Camp Horizon in Birch Bay, Washington. A tank of isocyanate exploded injuring and kill many resulting in an order to shelter in place for all

As a player (pink arm band) and field observer (yellow arm band), I was able to explore the command center located at the local firehouse, the explosion site, and the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH).

First stop: the command center. Located at the firehouse, this was a place for tracking events (see photo at left) and exchanging information; authorities inside, media OUTSIDE. Even though this was a drill, the annoyance with the faux media seemed genuine. It was interesting to see that many found it difficult to find the line between reality and fantasy. At one point I was told I could not go into the field until it was declared "safe." Isn't the drill over when it is safe? The information flow was so constant that it was difficult to catch anyone's attention as they roamed from room to room. Somehow, I managed to get some vague directions to the site.

Upon reaching Camp Horizon, myself and a fellow Western student were greeted by a man with a large assault rifle and a smile; even the acting students with corpse-like make-up broke character. We were waved in safely thanks to our green arm bands. There were ambulances from near and far lined along the road to the entrance. I wondered if importing ambulances left towns vulnerable to their own disaster.

The actual site of the supposed explosion was teeming with marines and people in hazmat suits. In order to make the task of finding the injured and deceased, dummies with realistic injuries were thrown in trees on strewn across the grass. Actors were also integrated in the mix. Both were dragged on yellow boards to a tent where they were decontaminated (hosed off). A controller/evaluator commented that marines do not have medical training and do not practice the caution with the injured that they should. He also noted that the drill had an unexplained mistake. Less protected participants had entered the site before it had been declared clear. In reality, this could have posed a serious health risk.

The final stop was the fairgrounds where the MASH hospital was located. A less lively scene, a barn doubled as a hospital with rows of injured dummies taggged by injury. Injured people sat in chairs. Another decontamination tent was set up nearby. An injured man decided he would not like to be to decontaminated and was quickly taken down by three marines.

The drill ended with the landing of two black hawk helicopters in an open field of the fairgrounds. They arrived 3-4 hours later than expected which does not bode well for a real disaster. Six of the injured were helicoptered off the site.

The drill ended abruptly with the deconstruction of the decontamination tents and departure of fire trucks and ambulances. The great thing about a drill is you can pack up and leave, feeling a sense of adventure even. Ironically, the same set of events can occur in reality but setting off a the exact opposite range of emotions. Perhaps this says something for the ineffectiveness of raising awareness through morbid or disheartening images. If one doesn't experience the real thing, it is easy for the mind to discount it as fantasy.