By Randall Higgins
Cleveland Bureau
CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Southeast Tennessee's first responders spent Saturday rehearsing for a day they hope never comes.
A drill involving all 10 of the counties in the local Homeland Security Region 3 unfolded in Bradley and Hamilton counties.
The series of three make-believe disasters was designed to stretch people and equipment to the limit and still be able to meet one more emergency if needed, said Bradley County Fire and Rescue Chief Dewey Woody.
Only the top organizers knew the full scenario in advance, said Tim Edwards, public information officer for the Cleveland/Bradley County Emergency Management Agency. Medical and law enforcement responders and leaders had to deal with information as it became available.
"It forces the secondary commanders to make the right decisions on the ground," Mr. Edwards said.
About 700 people, including about 300 responders representing about 40 local, state and regional agencies, took part in the drill. About 400 volunteers acted the part of victims, hostages and hospital patients, Mr. Edwards said.
The first scenario began just after 10 a.m. at Walker Valley High School.
The voice of principal Danny Coggins came over the intercom. "Teachers, we have a code red," he announced.
About 150 people, mostly students, took part in the school exercise.
The scenario had three simulated suspects enter the school and began shooting students and teachers. One suspect is shot by the school resource officer.
Most students were evacuated and put on county school buses for transport to SkyRidge Medical Center campuses.
Two medical evacuation helicopters landed on the school lawn. Cleveland police and McMinn County SWAT teams kept eyes on the doors and entered the building.
With most students evacuated, the negotiations began with the gunmen holding hostages.
Meanwhile, calls came in about a possible explosion and hazardous chemicals being involved near the railroad and trailer storage lot of the old Cooke's Manufacturing building on King Edward Avenue in Cleveland.
A hazmat team arrived and determined the chemical released was parathion, a poison used in insecticides.
But then officers found a bomb on a trailer. The scene was reorganized for the new threat and area bomb squads called. A robot was used to assess and neutralize the bomb.
Once again, the scene became a hazardous materials site.
Then a third incident happened. The 911 dispatchers received a call that a building had exploded and collapsed in Hamilton County near Hickory Valley Road and Discovery Drive at Enterprise South.
The building simulated a youth center where students were playing basketball. A simulated explosion of a car outside caused the building to collapse with people inside.
Emergency medical services responded and set up a triage area. Urban search and rescue teams, hazardous materials teams and bomb squads were called to the scene.
In Cleveland, Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble responded to the high school, directing SWAT team members and advising locations for media and parents.
The exercise was designed to give the agencies involved an opportunity to work and communicate jointly, said sheriff's department spokesman Bob Gault.
Saturday's exercise had been preceded by two "tabletop" exercises involving first response leaders across the region.
The drill planning, led by Chief Woody, took several months.
The final critique for the drill is expected in six to eight weeks, Mr. Edwards said.
E-mail Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com
