ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – Trying to make sure first responders are ready in case the St. Louis region is targeted in a major attack is the goal of the multi-day counterterrorism training taking place this week at the Embassy Suites Hotel at the St. Charles Convention Center.
The Readiness Lab is putting on the 3-day training program. That’s a St. Louis group that trains agencies for various emergency situations.
The training covers multiple areas, including evacuation procedures, crisis messaging, counter-terrorism measures, security protocols, mass care management, and medical response in emergencies.
There are a lot of groups taking part in the training.
They include the Department of Homeland Security, the DEA, the National Guard, local police and fire departments, Washington University, St. Louis University, the Saint Louis Area Regional Response System, the St. Charles County Emergency Management Agency, and even the British Army.
Organizers call the training an intensive study in crisis leadership and emergency management designed to prepare organizations for complex incidents. After a good deal of classroom learning, the training culminates Thursday with an actual exercise at Busch Stadium called ‘Attack at the Stadium.’
The Readiness Lab founder, John Scardena, told FOX 2 that the concepts being discussed in his training can apply to many disasters, like what is unfolding in Florida with Hurricane Idalia.
Here is some of what Scardena shared:
“When you’re talking about those concepts, really what you’re talking about is hurricanes – we evacuate in a hurricane, we do public messaging in a hurricane,” Scardena explained. “Same thing during a coordinated terrorist attack, right? We need to communicate with the public very quickly; we need to increase our crisis leadership and decision-making very fast.”
Scardena added that one of his instructors had to leave because he had to go respond to the hurricane in Florida. That person was one of the high-ranking officers in the Orlando, Florida, Fire Department.
