Stanwood train disaster drill delayed

Published 10:49 pm Saturday, March 14, 2009

STANWOOD — Tuesday’s train disaster has been postponed.

With Amtrak service set to begin this fall in Stanwood, fire departments and police agencies from north Snohomish County had planned to gather downtown Tuesday evening to practice how to respond to a disaster on passenger trains.

Stanwood Camano Fire Chief Mike Ganz said he put the kibosh on the disaster drill because city officials, downtown business owners and nearby residents didn’t get enough notice, and that the roles of the emergency agencies involved weren’t clearly defined.

Ganz also expressed concern that the drill might get in the way of work on the new Amtrak passenger platform. Construction is expected to begin next week near 271st Street NW, the same area to be used for the drill.

“This mass casualty drill is a big one,” Ganz said. “Let’s do this right. Why are we rushing into it?”

North County Fire Chief Dale Fulfs, who has spent many months preparing for the drill, said Stanwood police and fire officials have known about the drill for awhile.

City administrator Joyce Papke, who said she thought the drill was taking place out of town, talked with Fulfs on Thursday.

“She told us she was caught off guard and that the city should be in charge of such a training exercise,” Fulfs said. “This is a huge disappointment. A lot of preparation went into this and the cancellation takes away a wonderful training opportunity that will help us prepare for future growth in north county.”

Two Amtrak passenger cars, designed for training drills, were expected to be brought to Stanwood from California. The disaster drill script called for firefighters and police officers being told to respond as if a gunman had opened fire on the train and injured many passengers. Following a day in a classroom with Amtrak and Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials, the emergency personnel were scheduled to practice getting into the train cars through windows, as well as getting the injured out.

Firefighting personnel from Conway, Marysville, Fire District 19 and deputies from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office also were scheduled to participate in the disaster drill, Fulfs said. Whether or not the drill can be rescheduled is not known, he said.

Ganz believes the drill can happen later.

“Because of the scope of this drill, we just need to be comfortable that people have received proper notification,” Ganz said.

Papke noted that Burlington Northern Santa Fe emergency trainers agreed Thursday that the disaster drill should be postponed.

“This drill could be really scary to people if they did not know what was going on,” she said. “I feel badly that we have to cancel it right now. But we need to take all the steps necessary to ensure everybody’s safety.”

The new train passenger platform will provide service for the Amtrak Cascades route connecting Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. The $5 million station has been in works for nearly four years.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.