Federal, state and county security agencies train for disaster at Kent State

An emergency worker in a hazmat suit gets decontaminated after a drill during a mock disaster at Eastway Center Saturday. The mock disaster closed Eastway and the surrounding parking lots from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Abigail S. Fisher | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: Ron Soltys

WATCH video of the mock disaster.

Forty volunteers shrieked in terror after being sprayed with a “mystery substance” during an emergency responder training exercise on Saturday at Eastway Center.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, State of Ohio’s Homeland Security Grant Exercise Program and Portage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management held the exercise, which included over 200 individual respondents.

Margaret Garmon, public information officer for the Portage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said the faux hazardous material sprayed on the volunteers was factored into inter-department communication training.

“They describe the symptoms (of the victims who were sprayed) back to the command base,” Garmon said. “Then they decide if they need to dress or not.”

In defining the substance, response to victims was somewhat delayed.

Senior nursing major Erin Eigenbod said while she felt the response time to the emergency was quick, paramedics took too long to get to students pretending to be injured.

Senior nursing major Nicole Fiest said she was left lying on the grass for more than 30 minutes before a paramedic reached her.

“I was supposedly bleeding to death,” Fiest said.

John Mason, assistant director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Portage County, said communication was the main concern of the exercise.

Mason said communication with the public was also important, noting that any type of early warning to the public is extremely helpful.

In the case of the exercise, a Flash Alert was sent out at 9:32 a.m., 16 minutes after the “terrorist” fled the scene.

Garmon said if an emergency did take place one of the best ways to warn students, faculty and other Kent State staff would be through the use of loudspeakers.

Amy Quillan, assistant director of the Department of Residence Services, said if an emergency situation actually took place, students would be notified immediately.

“If this were a real incident, we would rally the hall staff, post flyers and go door to door to make sure students were aware,” Quillan said.

And now, in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting and, more recently, the Delaware State shooting, some students, such as freshman exploratory major Andrea Fisk , are concerned about campus safety and hope that the exercise will help in the prevention of such tragedies.

“It keeps happening and we need to do something to stop it,” Fisk said.

The type of terrorist attack simulated on Saturday, although unlikely for Kent State, involved many helpful procedures applicable to a shooting, Mason said.

“We would use several of these processes in a Virginia Tech-type incident,” he said.

Mason said the federal government mandates each county must come up with a plan for 15 different types of disasters.

“These plans range from a terrorist attack to an influenza epidemic,” Mason said. “We use the all-hazards approach so we’re prepared to deal with all of them.”

He said the exercise was funded through training budgets of each of the participating departments as well as a grant from Homeland Security.

Mason said the effectiveness of Saturday’s exercise will be evaluated by Homeland Security, and results will be available in 60 days.

He added that training exercises can’t cover all bases of an actual event.

“We’re probably 70 percent there… you can’t do everything,” he said. Overall, Mason said he was pleased with the exercise.

“It’s an improvement over last year,” Mason said.

Garmon said if an emergency did take place one of the best ways to warn students, faculty and other Kent State staff would be through the use of loudspeakers.

Amy Quillan, assistant director of the Department of Residence Services, said if an emergency situation actually took place, students would be notified immediately.

“If this were a real incident, we would rally the hall staff, post flyers and go door to door to make sure students were aware,” Quillan said.

And now, in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting and, more recently, the Delaware State shooting, some students, such as freshman exploratory major Andrea Fisk, are concerned about campus safety and hope that the exercise will help in the prevention of such tragedies.

“It keeps happening and we need to do something to stop it,” Fisk said.

The type of terrorist attack simulated, although unlikely for Kent State, involved procedures applicable to a shooting, Mason said.

“We would use several of these processes in a Virginia Tech-type incident,” he said.

Mason said the federal government mandates each county must come up with a plan for 15 different types of disasters.

“These plans range from a terrorist attack to an influenza epidemic,” Mason said. “We use the all-hazards approach so we’re prepared to deal with all of them.”

He said the exercise was funded through training budgets of each of the participating departments as well as a grant from Homeland Security.

Mason said the effectiveness of Saturday’s exercise will be evaluated by Homeland Security, and results will be available in 60 days.

“We’re probably 70 percent there … you can’t do everything,” he said. Overall, Mason said he was pleased with the exercise.

“It’s an improvement over last year,” Mason said.

Contact public affairs reporter Amadeus Smith at [email protected] and safety reporter Kevin Gareau at [email protected]. Public affairs reporter James Everetts contributed to this story.