DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The National Guard staged a terrorism response disaster drill yesterday at Aloha Stadium. These specialists were in their hazardous-material suits looking for hazardous material in one of the entrances into Aloha Stadium. They found one of the dummy hazardous materials and put it in a container.
Terror disaster drill
strikes Aloha Stadium
Just after kickoff at the Pro Bowl, terrorists explode a bomb with low-grade radioactive material at Aloha Stadium, prompting a team of National Guard specialists to help civil authorities deal with the damage.
One immediate problem is decontamination of almost everyone in the stadium, said Lt. Col. Ed Toy, commander of the 22-member 93rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.
His Hawaii National Guard unit performed a decontamination drill this week along with other specialists from Tripler Special Medical Augmentation Team, the state Department of Health, Honolulu and federal fire departments, Honolulu Police Department, Emergency Medical Services, Red Cross and bomb disposal units from the various services.
"Large venues like the Aloha Stadium or the Stan Sheriff Center," Toy said, "we know are potential targets for terrorists wanting to make a statement."
Yesterday, in the parking lot fronting Aloha Stadium's main ticket office was a mass casualty/decontamination operation with the Fire Department's ladder trucks hosing down "spectators" as they exited from the stadium.
"Water is good," Toy explained. "It is used to knock off as much of the product as you can at one time."
The "spectators" were taken to one of three tents where they were scrubbed down by National Guard personnel wearing decontamination suits and then interviewed by Red Cross volunteers. Other tents were erected where "spectators" could discard their contaminated clothing.
Toy said some of the "spectators" were tagged with "casualty triage and medical examination cards" that said what type of injuries they had suffered.
James Hix was carried into the decontamination tent suffering from "a broken left arm" and "respiratory problems."
Once Hix had been scrubbed with soap and water, he was carried on a stretcher to Red Cross volunteer Cassy Shinabarger, who tried to get personal information about him and other members of his party before dispatching him to a hospital for treatment.
Other "spectators" wore plastic coveralls so emergency workers could get the feel of cutting off contaminated clothing.
The group is the first assessment team in the country to undergo a mass casualty/ decontamination drill, Toy said.
"We are trying to replicate what it takes to handle casualties in such large numbers," Toy said. "It's something we have done before. Our goal is treat as many as 200 an hour."
Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, head of the Hawaii Department of Defense, said the 93rd is one of 12 teams that will be beefed up with additional Hawaii Army and Air National Guard personnel to deal with incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.
Even while this is taking place, other members of Toy's team were sent into the stadium, now considered a "hot zone," to assess the situation.
"Whenever we go in," Toy said, "we assume the worst: a chemical, nuclear or biological terrorist attack."
Their mission yesterday was to assess the scope and severity of the terrorist attack by sampling suspected contaminants they found in the stadium and then advise civil authorities on how to deal with them. Toy said his unit also has a mobile lab that can identify 85,000 different chemicals.
The 93rd is one of 32 civil support teams composed of full-time Army and Air National Guard personnel.
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Lingle to meet with Ridge
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge is scheduled to meet with Gov. Linda Lingle this morning in Waikiki.The two will meet at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and discuss security issues relating to Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Governor's Office.
Ridge is stopping in Hawaii on his way to Asia.
Star-Bulletin staff
