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Snohomish County drill to simulate response to terrorist attack

Published 11:30 am Tuesday, June 11, 2024

By Herald Staff

Members of South County Fire practice onboarding and offboarding a hovering Huey helicopter during an interagency disaster response training exercise at Arlington Municipal Airport on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. The crews learned about and practiced safe entry and exit protocols with crew from Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue before begin given a chance to do a live training. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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Members of South County Fire practice onboarding and offboarding a hovering Huey helicopter during an interagency disaster response training exercise at Arlington Municipal Airport on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. The crews learned about and practiced safe entry and exit protocols with crew from Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue before begin given a chance to do a live training. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue Flight Medic Jeff Brown, center left in orange, speaks with crews from South County Fire and Seattle Fire about the airborne tactical extraction platform (AirTEP) during an interagency disaster response training exercise at Arlington Municipal Airport on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
A number of computers can be used for a different purposes during a disaster at the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

EVERETT — A drill for first-responders Thursday will simulate a “coordinated terrorist attack,” as training for a large emergency that requires a massive regional response.

Starting around 9 a.m., air, fire, police and maritime agencies across the state will respond to the drill, organized by the Northwest Regional Aviation consortium. It’ll be based out of the Arlington Municipal Airport but will incorporate other locations across Snohomish County.

In the simulation, a few “key” government buildings will have taken major damage, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Chief Pilot Bill Quistorf wrote in a press release.

Scenarios within the exercise will include water rescues, high-rise rescues, K-9 building searches, aerial surveys and equipment transport to support structural collapses. According to the aviation consortium, having “pre-plans” in place, and the knowledge of how to execute the plans, greatly helps in an organized response to a large-scale emergency.

Among the participating agencies are the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Fire Department; the Everett Fire Department; the Snohomish, King, Pierce and Spokane county sheriff’s offices; the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management; Sky Valley Fire; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the FBI; Airlift Northwest; volunteer search and rescue teams from Snohomish and King counties; Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, Snohomish County 911; and the state Department of Transportation.

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