Yonkers Public Notice: Emergency Preparedness Exercise Saturday

Yonkers and Metro-North to Stage Emergency Preparedness Exercise Saturday;

Drill at Glenwood Train Station Will NOT Affect Train Service

YONKERS, NY -- This is an Official Public Notice from the City of Yonkers regarding a Full Scale Emergency Preparedness Exercise taking place on Saturday, May 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Glenwood Train Station in Yonkers. Details follow.

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On Saturday, May 10, 2008, the City of Yonkers will conduct a Full Scale Emergency Preparedness Exercise in conjunction with MTA Metro-North Railroad. There will be a mock emergency scenario carried out at the Glenwood Train Station and the adjoining John F. Kennedy Memorial Park and Riverside High School. The exercise is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at approximately 2:00 p.m.

Normal train service will NOT be affected while this scenario is played out in the area of Glenwood Station.

The scenario will address local response to a hazardous materials release involving a Metro-North Railroad train stopped in Yonkers with panicked customers and injuries. First response agencies participating include the Yonkers Police and Fire Departments, the Yonkers Office of Emergency Management, several Metro-North Departments, the American Red Cross and Empress Ambulance.

"These drills not only provide our responders with the training they need, they also reassure the public that our police and fire departments, as well as other agencies, are prepared to handle emergency situations should they arise, and that's important," said Mayor Phil Amicone. "Thousands of Yonkers residents ride Metro-North trains on a daily basis because they know it's safe and reliable. This exercise will help us keep it that way."

The scenario for the mock exercise is as follows: A Hudson Line train with 250 customers aboard is being patrolled by two MTA police officers. One officer's radiation detection device "goes off" as he passes a customer. When the officers try to interview the suspicious customer, the suspect knocks them down and runs off, but is quickly captured and wrestled to the ground.

The exercise is intended to prepare responders for challenges such as dealing with a threatening individual, the potential of radiological hazards and understanding crowd psychology. There will be a full mobilization of the Yonkers Auxiliary Police to assist the Yonkers Police Department with crowd and traffic control. A train evacuation will be practiced.

Volunteers from the Auxiliary Police and Emergency Support Services, Civil Air Patrol, Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response Teams and RACES communicators are scheduled to participate. Both St. Joseph's Medical Center and the Riverside Health Care System at St. John's Hospital will also be assisting with the drill along with the New York State and Westchester County Offices of Emergency Management.

Students from the Yonkers Public Schools magnet programs, City of Yonkers and Metro-North employees and others from local Yonkers organizations have volunteered to represent "customers" on the train involved in the drill.

On Saturday, all participants must assemble in the gymnasium of Riverside High School, at 565 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, for registration between 7:00 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. The exercise will begin at 9:00 a.m.

This event is not open for public observation.

Comments

We as citizens pay the salaries, it should be allowed to be viewed by the public, providing there is no interference. In a real emergency you would have hoards of onlookers that would need to be controlled.

Naturally its not open to the public because FITZY does not want any of us who pay his salary to see how many TOYS he really has. If someone can get a camera with a telescopic lense, take a look at how many "YFD Special Operatios Trucks" FITZY has compared to what the YPD, Metro North, Empress and Yonkers Civil Defense has. I'd bet that YFD has as many if not MORE that all of these other agencies combined. And for what? IT SHOULD BE A WESTCHESTER COUNTY - DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DRILL with Metro North and NOT a Yonkers Only Drill. Combine all Fire Agencies and EMS into 1 Single County Agency and you would have an effective and cost efficient department. Instead we have excess all bundled up just for the YFD and no one else (Hey Mount Vernon FD, I'd bet you would love to have some of that excess equipment to help everyone out in Mount Vernon? But with Fitzy around, you cannot play with his toys - Sorry)

Fatso, I mean Fitzy should retire, he has been around way too long.

Can you say about $100K for this Chassis/Tractor to be used how many times? (outside of Fitzy's Drills)

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2144814400102545909RACtnX

What about this training trailer that should be the County's and not Yonkers? (Isn't there a Westchester Fire Training Center in Valhalla)?

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2706146360102545909QXLZVz

Nice ending to business week, Mike SpaNO gets a subponea. Who gives Yonkers a bad name..... Those running the show that's who.

Its not open for Public Observation but you can bet the bank that Fitzy will have WABC, WCBS, WNBC, FoxNews, UPN, News12, JournalNews (and probably AP and UPI, if he has his way), all reporting on it. Also Nita Lowey will of course, have her VIP location and seat in place (Hillary too, if she wasn't busy campaigning). Fitzy will make sure that he has his picture taken with every Political Heavyweight that he invites. Why? Simple! To get more taxpayer money to buy new toys just for Yonkers. As the other poster said, when will everyone wake up and admit that this all needs to be part of and managed by the WCDEM and NOT Fitzy and the YFD.