UTA drill tests emergency responses to terrorism


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OGDEN — SWAT team members marched single file along the train platform, passing over the wounded as they searched carefully for any signs of a pair of bombers.

They were among roughly 150 first responders who were quick to arrive after reports that a pair of explosions crippled a northbound FrontRunner train at Ogden Station early Wednesday morning.

Though only a drill, the deadly scenario worked well to test the interagency responsiveness of the FBI, local law enforcement and emergency medical services.

The drill, titled Operation Iron Horse, was conducted as a response to a scenario in which four men carrying explosive backpacks approached the train and simulated a series of explosions at the FrontRunner station.

The Utah Transit Authority immediately issued an emergency alert, calling in the response, and within minutes officers secured the parking lot of the train station. Meanwhile, SWAT approached the scene, methodically looking for two of the suicide bombers believed to have survived the attacks and slipped in with the crowds of injured.

Approximately 120 crisis actors portrayed the various states of injury, with some able to walk away, while others lay on the ground unable to move and too deafened by the blasts to respond to commands from the officers.

"It definitely gives you insight on what you can expect if this were to happen, how to prepare for it," said Marissa Gonzalez, one of the crisis actors.

Gonzalez, 20, lay on the platform, unable to move from her injuries. While SWAT officers patted down several of the walking wounded around her and evacuated them to an area for the less seriously injured, a stretcher was prepared to carry Gonzalez from the platform.

SWAT teams search for terrorists during a full-scale emergency response drill simulating a terrorist suicide bombing on a FrontRunner train in Ogden on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Emergency personnel from a wide variety of agencies — including the Utah Transit Authority, FBI, Utah Medical Examiner's Office, and Davis and Weber counties — participated in the exercise. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
SWAT teams search for terrorists during a full-scale emergency response drill simulating a terrorist suicide bombing on a FrontRunner train in Ogden on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Emergency personnel from a wide variety of agencies — including the Utah Transit Authority, FBI, Utah Medical Examiner's Office, and Davis and Weber counties — participated in the exercise. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

The injured were set aside on different colored tarps: Green for the walking wounded, yellow for those more seriously injured, and red for the most critical cases.

Many of the walking wounded were loaded onto UTA buses or shuttles and carried off to a nearby hospital. The more seriously injured were separated out and prepared for ambulance transportation.

Dave Goeres, UTA's chief safety and security officer, said a real-life event under similar conditions would see at least as many victims and perhaps more.


It definitely gives you insight on what you can expect if this were to happen, how to prepare for it.

–Marissa Gonzalez, crisis actor


While many of the specific drill scenarios were conducted separately for evaluators to study, Goeres said a real-life attack would see a response within minutes and events would unfold more quickly with responders from the many agencies working simultaneously.

UTA spokesman Remi Barron said the training primarily instructs the agencies on how to work cooperatively, teaching them how to communicate and delegate responsibilities.

"You never have the chance to respond to something like this with this many different agencies and this many personnel at one time," Barron said.

UTA's emergency personnel had the chance to work alongside the FBI, Davis and Weber County sheriff's offices, emergency personnel from Ogden and Brigham City, and the Utah Medical Examiner.

Injured “victims” are led from a train during a full-scale emergency response drill simulating a terrorist suicide bombing on FrontRunner in Ogden on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Emergency personnel from a wide variety of agencies — including the Utah Transit Authority, FBI, Utah Medical Examiner's Office, and Davis and Weber counties — participated in the exercise. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
Injured “victims” are led from a train during a full-scale emergency response drill simulating a terrorist suicide bombing on FrontRunner in Ogden on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Emergency personnel from a wide variety of agencies — including the Utah Transit Authority, FBI, Utah Medical Examiner's Office, and Davis and Weber counties — participated in the exercise. (Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

The South Ogden, Uintah, Washington Terrace, Riverdale, Roy and Plain City fire departments, and North View, Uintah and Weber fire districts also responded to the scene. A Life Flight helicopter landed alongside the platform as part of the emergency medical response, and Ogden Regional Medical Center was on standby to receive and begin caring for the victims.

Barron said the number of emergency personnel was helpful in simulating the response, but to have so many agencies at one time can create conflicts between jurisdictions.

Goeres said UTA supervisors and operators, who are present on all FrontRunner trains, would be the first people to seek out in a similar emergency, and they will instruct passengers on what to do.

In these scenarios, passengers should seek to protect themselves first and get away from the scene quickly, then wait for emergency responders, he said.

UTA typically performs the emergency drills about once every six months, following federal regulations.

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