A day for mistakes

Marisa O’Neil

Explosions rocked the air, and rescue personnel clad in

chemical-protection suits evacuated bloodied victims from the Pacific

Amphitheater on Wednesday morning.

Fortunately for everybody involved, the terrorist attack wasn’t

real. It was a large-scale training exercise for Orange County rescue

personnel. More than 1,500 people from more than 50 agencies took

part, making it the largest terrorism drill ever in the county,

Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said.

“Today we come together in the street to put together the training

and equipment we’ve been doing,” he said at a press conference during

the drill.

Participants wore personal protective equipment -- special

chemical suits and accessories -- recently procured by local law

enforcement and rescue agencies through the Department of Homeland

Security. A grant from that department also funded the training

exercise, dubbed Orange Shield 2004.

The training exercise started with a bang -- literally. The seats

at the Pacific Amphitheater exploded and volunteer victims screamed

as a “terrorist” armed with a handgun took a Sheriff’s deputy

hostage, pulling him into a building backstage.

Gunshots rang out followed by more screams as -- according to the

exercise’s script -- anthrax was released into the theater.

Outside the amphitheater, Sheriff Mike Carona gave observers the

background of the attack. An earlier raid of a terrorist safe house

revealed a chemical weapons laboratory, parts for a bomb and evidence

of a planned attack within the next two days, he said.

Meanwhile, firefighters set up a decontamination area in the

parking lot, hosing down victims and giving them silver Mylar

blankets to stay warm in the overcast chill. The incessant

“squish-squish” of rubber booties on blacktop announced the arrival

of a legion of rescuers in their chemical suits.

SWAT officers detonated two loud, flash-bang devices inside the

amphitheater and began evacuating victims -- covered in mock blood

and scars -- on gurneys. Other officers carried the “dead” in body

bags.

Another scenario included a suspicious van into the parking lot. A

bomb squad robot shot the van’s windows out to look for weapons.

Rescue crews took victims to 10 area hospitals to test the

preparedness od medical facilities, too, Carona said.

The exercise ended with a debriefing to review and evaluate

responses.

“This is a day for mistakes,” Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley

said. “We know we’ll do a lot of things really well. We need to focus

on the things we don’t do so well. We’ll make mistakes here, so when

it really happens, we won’t make mistakes.”

Other agencies participating in the exercise included police, fire

and health-care agencies from cities throughout the county.

“This is incredible,” Costa Mesa Fire Chief Jim Ellis said as he

watched the exercise. “The way law enforcement, fire fighters and

[emergency medical services] are all working together as one -- that

to me is the most impressive thing.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.