(Note: The following scenario was fictitious and for emergency response training purposes only):
It was 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 and people packed Cruise Terminal 3 at the Port of Tampa. The terminal was filled with luggage and laughter. The passengers were focused on embarking on their ship for vacation.
Then a security screener, monitoring an x-ray machine, spots a suspicious device in a piece of luggage. Suddenly, the device begins to emit some type of noxious gas. Some passengers begin to wheeze and cough; others collapse in the terminal. Some are able to run outside.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies from the Port Security Section and Tampa Port Authority security personnel converge on the scene. They activate an emergency response formulated by the Region 4 Local Emergency Planning Committee, a part of the Tampa Bay Regional Domestic Security Task Force. The task force was created after 9-11 to provide regional coordination of responses to a terrorist attack or threat.
The emergency response includes bomb teams from the Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department, hazardous material (Haz Mat) teams from Tampa Fire Rescue and Hillsborough Fire Rescue, as well as medical and chemical agent experts from state and federal agencies.
The responders were challenged to determine the level of threat, what chemical may be involved, establish medical triage, and how to make the area safe and secure as quickly as possible.
This training scenario was designed so that first responders and their command teams could evaluate their response to a "real-life" setting, establish commands and workable communications in a timely manner, and improve overall interoperability for public safety.
