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What Is The Anti-Terrorism Exercise?
The exercise, otherwise known as "TOPOFF 2" for "top officials" is the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever undertaken in the United States. The exercise will be a simulated or fake, multi-point attack. There will be a simulated explosion in Seattle of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or "dirty bomb". In Chicago there will be a simulated biological attack. The exercise involves more than 100 federal, state, local, private sector, and Canadian agencies and organizations.
Seattle accepted an invitation from the U.S. Department of Justice and State Department to participate in TOPOFF 2 in October of 2002.
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When Is The Exercise?
The exercise begins on May 12, 2003 and includes 36 hours of continuous, live, full-scale exercise play, in the field and at the City's emergency operations centers. Visible, full-scale play ends on May 14th. [A greatly scaled down, table-top exercise will continue through the end of the week but there will be no public "play".]
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What Will You See?
In the Downtown/SODO District: The exercise will take place near the Tully's roasting plant (the old Rainier Brewery) on the 2900 block of Airport Way S. Businesses in this area will remain open as usual.
- Lane closures:
Southbound curb lane of Airport Way S. (from S. Walker to S. Spokane St. will be closed from 8:00 a.m. Monday, May 12, until 8: a.m. Wednesday, May 14. Police will help move traffic in remaining open lanes.
- Police, firefighters and emergency vehicles:
On May 12 and 13, Seattle police and firefighters will be training near the Tully's site. You'll see them in uniform and protective gear (moon suits/bubble suites) engaging in police patrols, rescue operations and other duties. You may see and hear emergency lights and sirens. This should not be cause for alarm. Participants and their vehicles will be clearly identified as part of the TOPOFF2 exercise.
West Seattle, Magnolia and Ballard [potentially]:
On May 12 and 13, you may see people working in pairs, dressed in protective clothing (moon suits/bubble suites), collecting environmental samples in your neighborhood. This should not be cause for alarm. These emergency responders and their vehicles will be clearly identified as part of the TOPOFF2 exercise.
White Center:
On May 13, King County and the Red Cross will be setting up shelter operations at a local park using local high school students as fake victims.
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Will This Affect Regular Police, Fire or Other Emergency Services?
NO. Only off-duty personnel will be participating in the exercise. All Emergency Service operations will be running as usual.
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What Can I Do To Improve My Personal Preparedness Plan?
A good place to start would be to visit the Seattle Office of Emergency Management website at:
www.cityofseattle.net/emergency_mgt/
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If I Run A Seattle Business, Can I Participate?
The City and local business organizations have created a communication system that will assist businesses in their response to and recovery from an emergency. The Business Emergency Network (BEN) enables businesses to receive information directly from the City's Emergency Operations Center and provide feedback about what they need. BEN will be initiated in early May to inform the business community about TOPOFF 2 and creates an opportunity to test BEN.
During TOPOFF 2, participating business organizations, acting as a hub, will be sending information to their members about the exercise, then asking for feedback from businesses about potential needs for information and resources as if the emergency were actually occurring. BEN will continue to be expanded and developed long after the exercise is completed. For more information about BEN, please contact project.impact@seattle.gov or call 206-615-0288.
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City News Releases
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