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08/20/03
August 13th was a clear sunny day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
when its first responders found out--in a practice situation--what
they would do and how they would work together if a chemical
bomb detonated inside the Brewers' baseball stadium, Miller
Park.
They found out that, with few glitches, they were very well
prepared. When the mock bomb exploded in the right-field loge
section of the ballpark, and volunteer "fans" ran
screaming through its corridors, Milwaukee law enforcement,
fire, and medical agencies converged on the place. Victims
were assisted, order was restored, and the hunt was on for
two suspicious persons seen in the area of the explosion.
Here's how it played out:
Once on the scene, Milwaukee Fire, EMS, and HazMat units assessed
the situation and established a decontamination and triage
area to handle the patients. The Red Cross and Salvation Army
came to feed patient and emergency workers and to support
patients and family members. The 440th Airlift Wing and Wisconsin's
Department of Transportation were also on hand. Meanwhile,
at Milwaukee's Level One trauma center, Froedtert Hospital,
patients arrived by ambulance and car and flooded the emergency
department. They were immediately decontaminated, then lined
up to see a triage doctor, who treated them according to their
"injuries."
So what about the suspects? They were ultimately tracked to
different hiding places inside the stadium, from where one
of them called in a secondary device that was hidden in the
parking lot. Bomb K-9 and other units were sent to the parking
lots and began sweeping the area. While they were finding
two simulated bombs hidden under cars there, the Milwaukee
FBI SWAT team and the Milwaukee Police Department Tactical
Enforcement Unit arrested the suspects. FBI Special Agent
in Charge of the Milwaukee FBI Office David Mitchell, who
co-hosted the training exercise with the U.S. Attorney's Office
of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said about it, "We
do take these events very seriously. The purpose is to test
equipment, test coordination, and above all to foster relationships
that will, when all is said and done, protect the people of
Milwaukee."
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