 The daylong exercise will include a variety of locations throughout
the city, beginning at the Logan County Fairgrounds in the early
morning hours.This week EMA director Dan Fulscher hosted a
meeting for media sources to outline what they might expect to see
on the day of the drill.
Many of the details of the day are being kept confidential for
one reason, so that those who will participate will not be able to
truly grasp ahead of time what they are about to experience. This is
to help emergency agencies react as though the drills are real.
Fulscher said he would offer some "teasers" on what would be
going on. He said the first drill of the day would take place at the
fairgrounds. He said it would be a highly visible site where
photographers would be able to get some good shots of the action.
He also noted that the Thursday event in Lincoln is going to be
preceded by something that will happen in Charleston, Ill., two days
before. He said that as the exercise proceeds, media would come to
understand the connection.
And finally he said that the exercise would not involve a
catastrophic weather event.
Fulscher explained that one of the concerns of doing this type of
drill in the area is to keep local citizens from becoming concerned
or afraid that the emergency is real and to keep residents safe
during the drill.
He said the public will see the presence of more than 300 members
of various agencies, including fire, law enforcement, EMA and more.
He said the public should not panic or become concerned about
this, but at the same time, if they feel they are seeing something
that is real, they should go ahead and call 911. Fulscher said the
911 dispatch is anticipating a higher volume of calls that day as
people see things they don't understand. Because of this, the local
preparations include having extra dispatchers at the call center to
take the calls and assure that the public is safe at all times.
In many cases, the public will also be denied access to the area
where the drill is going on. For example, at the first exercise at
the fairgrounds, no one will be allowed in without proper
identification issued by the EMA.
Fulscher said this is to keep people out of harm's way while the
drill is going on.
On the day of the drill, local media will be able to report on
most of the events as they occur, but the media will also be a part
of the role-play.
After the first drill is completed, media sources will have an
opportunity to participate in a press conference. At the conference
Mayor Keith Snyder, county board chair Bob Farmer and emergency
personnel will tell the group what the disaster is and outline what
is being done. Fulscher said media would take on the stance that the
emergency is real and will be allowed to ask questions.
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Again this is part of the drill, and those answering questions
will need to be prepared. Fulscher said the media should ask pointed
questions, and even get a bit "pushy" with officials as they seek
answers for the public.
Fulscher also noted that during the preparation for this drill,
the cooperative partnership between government and EMA has been
outstanding. He said it was a testament to both the city and the
county leaders that they have worked so well together in helping to
prepare for next week.
He referred to Snyder and Farmer as chief elected officials,
saying that in a real emergency, these two would be the faces of the
actual disaster, the ones the public would want to hear from as
events unfolded, and they have taken that to heart in preparing for
the training next week.
In addition to local agencies, there will also be a presence of
state agencies, such as the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
On the day of the event, local media will work with the local
public information officer for the day, Marla Blair, along with
Alana Sorrentino of the Logan County EMA.
They will also have an opportunity to work with the state-level
PIO, Patty Thompson.
Another agency that will have members on hand is the Illinois Law
Enforcement Alarm System, or ILEAS. Fulscher said this is a
specialist team. While media may be able to see their part of the
exercise, they will not be allowed to photograph the faces of the
team members. In addition, very few names will be given out.
Fulscher said he wanted to see the media involved in the event,
but there would be times when they are not allowed to use camera or
videos, and they are expected to respect that.
At the end of this week's briefing, Fulscher was asked how the
day was being funded. He said this is a state program and is being
funded by a grant from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
[By NILA SMITH]
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