Operation Exchange Place Response: NJ EMS Task Force Excercise 10-28-07

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This morning, I was invited by a fellow EMTBravo member to photograph a large scale drill in Jersey City.

It was entitled "Operation:Exchange Place Response". It was held at the P.A.T.H. (Port Authority Trans Hudson Railroad) Exchange Place station in downtown Jersey City. The scenario was a terrorist attack on a train inside the tunnel. Although it was Sunday morning, the simulation was 8AM on a Monday morning, the height of rush hour.

I was amazed at the level of orginization and logistical abilty that the NJ EMS Task force and the Port Authority have. Also, they have a tremendous amount of equipment. It really blows NY State away. It's kind of sad that just across the river is a lot more coordinated EMS effort then over here in NY. The State really funds Homeland Security initatives and equipment. And their planning for these events is just amazing. Excellent job by all agencies involved, I was so impressed. I never saw a drill of this scale run so smoothly and so well.

It's also interesting to note that every base was covered. This was a full scale event. If only you could read the Excercise Action Plan. It involved every agency that would be involved in a terrorist incident. They even transported the patients to area hospitals which also went through their procedures.

The photos are posted on EMTBravo.com. I must admit I did a really lousy job and am very dissapointed in the quality of the photos. The lighting was really, really tough and there were people and vehicles everywhere. But I did the best I could and hope you enjoy.

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Thats a pile of apparatus for sure!

Nice stuff!

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I still think the photos came out GREAT!

Does Westchester have anything that compares to something of this scale?

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Does Westchester have anything that compares to something of this scale?

Maybe because Jersey City is right across the river from the financial district, they'd probaly recieve a heck of a lot more patients/evacuees then Westchester would.