OK: Weaponized Version of Pneumonic Plague
TERROR DRILLS
Thursday, July 14, 2005
It`s a scary but all too real scenario these days, terrorists striking an American city with chemical or biological weapons. That`s why six Oklahoma cities today, including Lawton and Fort Sill, put on the largest bio-terrorism drill in Oklahoma state history.
It`s just a drill, but it is meant to be just like the real thing. Officials in six Oklahoma cities, including Lawton, set up secured command posts to give out medicine, as if terrorists had released a weaponized version of pneumonic plague.
Julia Taylor took part and says the operation went fairly smoothly.
Participants signed in outside, then went through tight security into a high school gym. From there, they talked with medical experts and got the proper antibiotics. At the MacArthur High School site, there was also a drive up lane. Residents can sign in and get their medicine without getting out of the car. The drive up is meant for handicapped citizens and those already showing symptoms.
Craig Hadley, a former Lawton firefighter, played that role and knows how important these drills are. Fort Sill put on the same drill this morning. Officials hoped to get medicine to about 750 people an hour. They say they doubled that.
Back at the Lawton site, officials hoped to serve about 400 people an hour during both morning and afternoon drills. Officials say they fell a bit short in the morning, serving about 640 in two hours, but they served nearly 1,000 people during an hour-and-a-half in the afternoon.
Officials say the numbers are not the most important aspect, because those would change after a real attack. Lawton residents say that makes them fell better, just in case the unthinkable were to happen. Officials say they will meet in about a week at the Lawton Health Department to assess how all the drills went.
