Gunmen storm Spectrum in mock disaster
A mock disaster held Saturday in the Spectrum gave insight to law enforcement of what to expect if a serious emergency were to take place on campus.
An actual call was placed at the time of the incident to alert police and begin the mock disaster, which was put together by USU Emergency Manager Judy Crockett and was planned throughout the summer.
“At 10:22 we received reports of a shooting during a gymnastics meet,” said Steve Mecham, unified commander of the USU Police. “We received another report of hostages. Logan City S.W.A.T. Police officers responded and apprehended four suspects.”
In the scenario, four gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at a gymnastics meet and planted two bombs made of chlorine inside the Spectrum. One of the bombs went off, expelling chlorine gas into the air that caused the victims to be contaminated.
As part of the drill, students and Cache Valley residents volunteered time to play victims. Complete with make-up, artificial wounds and instruction cards around their necks, the victims acted out their symptoms after the gunmen stormed the Spectrum. Some victims were wounded, while others were instructed to scream and run. Four victims were “killed” in the shooting.
Liz Kefauber, who is on the CERT team, was inside the Spectrum during the attack.
“Even though you know it was a drill, when the guy came screaming in your face it was really scary,” she said.
Because law enforcement wanted to ensure the scenario was an accurate way of testing the emergency response system, they played out the drill in real time with accurate tools, safety devices and protective gear. Victims were actually placed in levels of injury – red, yellow or green – and then transported by ambulance or bus to the hospital.
Mark Meaker, fire chief of Logan City, said after Sept. 11, 2001, there needs to be preparation among the response teams in case of a catastrophic event.
“We want our exercises to be realistic,” he said. “We have met our objective.”
Meaker said the drill was partially funded for by a $10,000 grant from Homeland Security. Cache Valley has adopted a new Mass Casualty Incident Team, which now joins 55 other teams throughout the nation. The grant also paid for three new trailers in Logan, Hyrum and Smithfield that can assist in emergency management during crisis. Each trailer can house up to 150 patients.
The exercise gave response teams an idea of how to handle a situation if it actually was to occur. The drill included USU campus police, the Logan City Police Department, Logan City Fire Department, North Logan Fire Department, Bear River Health Department, National Guard, Haz-Mat and S.W.A.T. teams.
The list of improvements needed that were noted after the drill included failure to discuss evidence at the scene, overwhelmed treatment stations and lack of quick dispersement of information, making it hard for others to be informed.
Kevin Christiensen was given the task to evaluate law enforcement during the mock disaster.
“I was impressed they had a pretty good idea of what was going on inside,” he said. “(The situation) was quite the education.”
-holly.ventura@aggiemail.usu.edu