We Had a Terrorism Evacuation Drill

[MrRain422]

[Pocahontas]

[mountain bed]

"Yer either with us,or yer with the terraists..& if yer with us,ya get a t-shirt"

 

i think George W. Bush said that.

[LouieB]

I sure hope emptying a couple buildings teaches them something, but frankly in the event of a real attack, it will be much more chaotic. I work in the Loop and we didn't even know it was happening (yea I KNEW it was occuring, but we didn't evacuate.) I am sure this is a sample which they will then multiply hundreds of times, but since this was a small drill, people seemed rather calm and the streets were not overflowing with people as they would be if all buildings heard the news.

 

LouieB

[Finna]

I sure hope emptying a couple buildings teaches them something, but frankly in the event of a real attack, it will be much more chaotic. I work in the Loop and we didn't even know it was happening (yea I KNEW it was occuring, but we didn't evacuate.) I am sure this is a sample which they will then multiply hundreds of times, but since this was a small drill, people seemed rather calm and the streets were not overflowing with people as they would be if all buildings heard the news.

 

LouieB

 

I agree- if 9/11 proved nothing else it proved that even the best laid plans of mice and men fall short in the event of unforseen (or unimagined) trauma.

 

When a large portion of the victims were the first responders you know that systems were f***ed.

 

I give Chi town some credit for at least TRYING to be prepared, but wonder what the value will be in a true emergency.

 

I hope to be proven wrong if G--forbid anything ever happens.

[MrRain422]

Yeah, it's a nice thought, but I don't think it really accomplished anything. In the newspaper today, a city official was quoted as saying that it would have gone much more smoothly if less women wore high heals, and instead wore shoes that were better for descending a dozen flights of stairs. Does this mean that women should never wear high heels just in case there is a terrorist attack? Because if not...well, it's a completely meaningless observation, because, in a business environment, high heal shoes will be worn on most days. And of course the fact that everyone knew it was going to happen (and got t-shirts!) made it all the more unrealistic. I suppose it's good that people who always take the elevator now know where the stairs are, but otherwise I doubt it will end up being very useful in the event of a real emergency.

 

I work right at S. Wacker and Monroe, right in the middle of it, but I'm on the early shift so I was out of here before the evacuation drill happened anyway, but my coworkers are all laughing about it today.

Edited September 8, 2006 by MrRain422

[MrRain422]

Also, I don't think "preparedness" is a real word. If it is, it shouldn't be.

[LouieB]

Every six months or so we do a fire drill at the Thompson Center, which is announced and planned so some people sneak out so they don't have to walk the stairs. I really think an unplanned drill at all buildings at some point is in order, not necessarily organized by the city, but as a responsibility of each individual landlord or organization.

 

I am not paranoid, because I figure Chicago isn't really much of a target, but if someone drove a truck bomb (as in OK City) up to the Thompson Center, few people would survive anyway since the front is a wall of glass and the building is basically an open shell.

 

LouieB

[Finna]

Yeah, it's a nice thought, but I don't think it really accomplished anything. In the newspaper today, a city official was quoted as saying that it would have gone much more smoothly if less women wore high heals, and instead wore shoes that were better for descending a dozen flights of stairs. Does this mean that women should never wear high heels just in case there is a terrorist attack? Because if not...well, it's a completely meaningless observation, because, in a business environment, high heal shoes will be worn on most days. And of course the fact that everyone knew it was going to happen (and got t-shirts!) made it all the more unrealistic. I suppose it's good that people who always take the elevator now know where the stairs are, but otherwise I doubt it will end up being very useful in the event of a real emergency.

 

I work right at S. Wacker and Monroe, right in the middle of it, but I'm on the early shift so I was out of here before the evacuation drill happened anyway, but my coworkers are all laughing about it today.

 

That was a pretty stupid observation from the city official- but it is Chicago :-D

 

 

You know- I honestly think morbid thoughts along these lines some days. As I walk down the stairs here (and up too...not sure why we have an elevator- only 5 floors) I think about how those less fit or those who wear heels would fare in an emergency evacuation. BUT, with that said- I'm not going to stop wearing skirts because I can't move quickly in them or higher heels because I can't descend quickly. If some bad stuff is going down the shoes are coming off and I'm hauling.

Edited September 8, 2006 by Finna

[gogo]

Yeah, it's a nice thought, but I don't think it really accomplished anything. In the newspaper today, a city official was quoted as saying that it would have gone much more smoothly if less women wore high heals, and instead wore shoes that were better for descending a dozen flights of stairs. Does this mean that women should never wear high heels just in case there is a terrorist attack? Because if not...well, it's a completely meaningless observation, because, in a business environment, high heal shoes will be worn on most days. And of course the fact that everyone knew it was going to happen (and got t-shirts!) made it all the more unrealistic. I suppose it's good that people who always take the elevator now know where the stairs are, but otherwise I doubt it will end up being very useful in the event of a real emergency.

 

I work right at S. Wacker and Monroe, right in the middle of it, but I'm on the early shift so I was out of here before the evacuation drill happened anyway, but my coworkers are all laughing about it today.

I work for an organization that participates in these kinds of drills semi-regularly, and one thing that you might not have gotten to see was the scrambling around that the government agencies were doing behind the scenes. More than likely, it wasn't just a fire drill type of exercise, it gave them a chance to figure out if they could reach each other if the phone lines were down, if they'd be able to call on contractors outside the city, how the communication between local, state, and federal agencies worked, that kind of thing. It's pretty frightening to me that no matter how many of these drills are done, and despite the fact that they know the drills are coming up and act as though they're prepared for them, there are significant issues identified each time (and not necessarily corrected before the next one).

 

As for the shoes: after the 1989 earthquake, pretty much all public transportation was down in San Francisco, for a couple of days at least (either of the two bus lines I would normally take home run on electrical power from overhead lines; there are some diesel buses, but not a lot). A lot of people walked home from the financial district; that would be about five miles to my house. Since then, I keep a pair of tennis shoes in my desk drawer. Depending on the situation, people wouldn't necessarily have time to change their shoes, but everyone should be aware that if you work any distance from home and don't normally wear shoes that you feel you could walk home in, be prepared and have something to change in to.

[Finna]

 

Good call on both items!

 

 

I work for an organization that participates in these kinds of drills semi-regularly, and one thing that you might not have gotten to see was the scrambling around that the government agencies were doing behind the scenes. More than likely, it wasn't just a fire drill type of exercise, it gave them a chance to figure out if they could reach each other if the phone lines were down, if they'd be able to call on contractors outside the city, how the communication between local, state, and federal agencies worked, that kind of thing. It's pretty frightening to me that no matter how many of these drills are done, and despite the fact that they know the drills are coming up and act as though they're prepared for them, there are significant issues identified each time (and not necessarily corrected before the next one).

 

As for the shoes: after the 1989 earthquake, pretty much all public transportation was down in San Francisco, for a couple of days at least (either of the two bus lines I would normally take home run on electrical power from overhead lines; there are some diesel buses, but not a lot). A lot of people walked home from the financial district; that would be about five miles to my house. Since then, I keep a pair of tennis shoes in my desk drawer. Depending on the situation, people wouldn't necessarily have time to change their shoes, but everyone should be aware that if you work any distance from home and don't normally wear shoes that you feel you could walk home in, be prepared and have something to change in to.