More Security Theater on the MBTA

[alexxkay]

Last night, on my ride home, I saw a bunch of postings up at the T sites, saying that there will be busing along part of the Red Line this Sunday morning, due to something I think they called an "Emergency Preparedness Exercise". I gather they're going to simulate some sort of emergency, and see how well various agencies respond. [irony]Because emergencies so often happen with 4 days warning, on a predictable schedule, and at a time when the system is relatively empty. Whether it's terrorists, medical emergencies, or mechanical failures, you can always expect them to happen when the system is at its least loaded, yep.[/irony]

It seems to me that this exercise is going to cost a lot of money and attention, and there is only one outcome which would actually be helpful. If this exercise shows that the agencies in question *can't* respond to a softball exercise like this, then we will have learned something important. But if they do a good job under these contrived circumstances, that gives us absolutely no assurance about their ability to deal with an *actual* emergency, unplanned, under a rush hour load. Whose bright idea was this, anyways?

Comments

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Would you rather they didn't practice at all, or did so in way that completely fucks with everyone's commute with no warning? Can you imagine the bitching that would ensue?

[umbran.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps you misunderstand the point of the exercise.

You remember back in grade school, they had fire drills. Was the purpose of the drill to prove you could get out in case of a fire or emergency? No. It wasn't a test that you would pass or fail. It was a practice. Softball practice is still something the people involved can learn from.

And consider exactly how much love they'd get from the people of the city if they tried to practice hardball.

[tamarinne.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I agree this is pointless. Consider: they can't have a surprise emergency rehearsal. Business would be disrupted, people would be delayed, chaos would ensue. Politicians would subsequently be voted out of office. :) But lots of other agencies do the same kind of thing - the Army, for example, does war games. Everyone knows the war games are coming, and moreover, everyone knows that nobody's actually going to be shot or blown up or what have you in the war game. Nonetheless, the solidiers and the commanders learn from the exercise, and apply those lessons in real combat situations.

I'm reading a book right now called "How to Make War" - it's very interesting, I recommend it. If I were to take away one thing from it, though, it would be this concept: that experience is perishable, and combat experience is highly perishable. 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.

:)

[bkdelong.livejournal.com]

I think rufina does make a valid point. I would be very scared if they never did any drills at all. I'm heavily involved as a Disaster Services Volunteer for the American Red Cross of Mass Bay (http://www.bostonredcross.org) and have participated in two drills. One was a decontamination drill when Mass General was testing out their decon tent and giving experience to several local firefighters and emergency personnel, and the second was a much larger simulated terrorist attack at the Cambridgeside Galleria.

I was very disappointed with the latter because I spent an inordinate amount of time lying moulaged on my back with a flail section (protruding broken rib), while all sorts of folks were removed. I could have easily survived. After they FINALLY got me on a stretcher, I lay outside the building for almost an hour. I really care less about my discomfort and more about the fact that I "died" when I didn't have to. Firemen weren't making any effort to hurriedly evacuate people....it seemed like they were taking their time.

There's still a lot of work to be done coordinating between police departments and emergency services at the local and regional level. Even when there's a drill - it doesn't work with flying colors.

The Red Cross, on the other hand, we're not doing too shabbily.