5/19/2009
NYC Responders Prepare for Disaster during Ground Zero Drill

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, more than 800 firefighters, police officers and other first responders took part in a simulated terrorist attack near the World Trade Center site in New York City. The two-hour exercise replicated an explosion on a PATH commuter train.

First responders were faced with the challenge of working with other agencies, including the city’s police and fire departments, Port Authority police, the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to rescue victims trapped inside the PATH tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan.

To help extricate victims unable to walk to safety, responders utilized Reeves patient movement equipment throughout the drill.

By the end of the event, responders had successfully put out multiple fires trigged by the train explosion and used stretchers to transport nearly 20 victims from the station.