I think that giving emergency responders experience at acting in an emergency, even it's a highly contrived and schedule emergency, is going to improve their performance in a real emergency.
Improve, yes. But not, I think, to a point that is acceptable.
A lot of my thinking here is based on reading detailed reports of what went on in various Air Traffic Control rooms and National Defense Centers on 9/11. For way too long, everyone thought that a drill scheduled for somewhat later had somehow started early. Realization that it wasn't a drill left a lot of them paralyzed and panicked. Lots of things that were supposed to happen as part of contingency plans didn't, because they weren't actually in a state of constant readiness outside of scheduled drills. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, police and firemen reacted well because their jobs normally exposed them to plenty of actual emergencies; this one was different in scope, but their basic skills were well practiced. But those whose jobs didn't give them that sort of regular exercise outside of scheduled drills reacted overwhelmingly poorly.
Ever since then, I've been pretty strongly opposed to announcing drills in advance. As far as I can tell, what it mostly accomplishes is a false sense of security and readiness, one that isn't actually borne out under stress conditions.
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Date: 2007-03-22 04:19 pm (UTC)Improve, yes. But not, I think, to a point that is acceptable.
A lot of my thinking here is based on reading detailed reports of what went on in various Air Traffic Control rooms and National Defense Centers on 9/11. For way too long, everyone thought that a drill scheduled for somewhat later had somehow started early. Realization that it wasn't a drill left a lot of them paralyzed and panicked. Lots of things that were supposed to happen as part of contingency plans didn't, because they weren't actually in a state of constant readiness outside of scheduled drills. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, police and firemen reacted well because their jobs normally exposed them to plenty of actual emergencies; this one was different in scope, but their basic skills were well practiced. But those whose jobs didn't give them that sort of regular exercise outside of scheduled drills reacted overwhelmingly poorly.
Ever since then, I've been pretty strongly opposed to announcing drills in advance. As far as I can tell, what it mostly accomplishes is a false sense of security and readiness, one that isn't actually borne out under stress conditions.