Mock terrorist attack on campus to test emergency personnel

On Sunday, Oct. 20, a simulated terrorist attack is slated to take place on the University campus.

Princeton area police, fire and rescue personnel, along with the University Public Safety and the Princeton Medical Center, will use the drill to test their emergency response process, Borough Police Capt. Anthony Federico said.

Officials have not publicly revealed details of the planned simulation. But as of yesterday, the plan called for the simulated release of poison gas, one emergency official said.

"It's necessary for us to put it on in case we have a real terrorism incident," Federico said.

The simulation is scheduled to occur inside Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall, according to two officials closely involved in planning the drill.

"I can almost guarantee you that it will change if you print that," said Lauren Robinson-Brown '85, the University's communications director. The drill is designed to test the spontaneous responses of emergency personnel, Robinson-Brown said, and surprising them with the specific details of the scenario is a crucial element.

But not everyone involved in the process agreed. "If that information is out there, they can still practice," said Princeton Township Fire Marshall Tom Cashel, who is coordinating the interagency drill. Knowing in advance what the situation will be "is a far cry from actually doing it," he said. "Will there be simulated victims? Will there be poison gas? That's all part of the plan."

Cashell warned he could change the scenario at the last minute.

The current plan calls for about 50 community volunteers to play the role of distressed civilians, while real rescue workers practice their response skills, Cashell said.

"You need to get all your ducks in a row to make sure you can function," he said. "Just like a good swim team or football team, you practice before a game. [But] our game has more serious consequences. We have the public trust.

"We can say, okay, this we did really well, this we need to improve," he added.

An analysis of the drill will tell authorities how to improve next time.

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It has been more than 20 years since an interagency drill of this sort took place in Princeton, Cashell said. The current drill has been in the planning stages since early July, he added.

"Everything is kind of a simulation. The first half hour is scripted: dispatch police, fire and rescue," said University Fire Marshall Bob Gregory. "After that, the scenario plays itself out."

He said the mutual aid companies who assist Princeton rescue workers — including local squads in Kingston, West Windsor, Lawrence and Montgomery — will help cover the Princeton area during the exercise.

Some of these will be on hand to critique the response of Princeton workers, Gregory said, while others will be in their home firehouses to respond in case a real emergency occurs during the drill.

He said Taplin Auditorium was chosen because Fine Hall is in Princeton Township, the municipality where Cashell, who organized the drill, is based.

Carol Norris, director of public relations at Princeton Medical Center, said though the hospital runs its own on-site drills every six months, the drill would provide a new level of practice for hospital staff. "We have had disaster drills in the past, but this is the first time [all these agencies are] working together."

Norris said in May the hospital simulated a HAZMAT truck collision by treating five volunteer victims. But the coming simulation is much more elaborate.

Norris said the hospital has made a series of improvements in the past year, including the purchase of a special decontamination chamber for gas and chemical contaminants, as well as other new equipment and training.

"We will have 'patient' volunteers — they are brought in and triaged, like in a real emergency," Norris said. "They actually do go through decontamination and stand a little bit to the side so they don't get soaked."