Advertisement First responders planning for disaster drill at The Banks This fall will see mock mass casualty training event

The Hamilton County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency is preparing for a mass casualty training exercise at The Banks and Great American Ballpark this fall. It’s a worst-case scenario that gives first responders the best chance to practice their skills. “This will give them a good opportunity to test their skills, but at the same time is plausible and is something that could happen in Cincinnati,” said HCEMHSA Assistant Director Ryan McEwan. The mock disaster will have a mock terrorist pull off an imaginary two-pronged strike along the river.“It’s going to be a vehicle-based attack that strikes a hazardous materials truck down by the Banks, then drives into a crowd at Great American Ballpark,” McEwan said. In this drill, expect to see hundreds of people made up to look like they’re injured, along with police, fire and hazmat response swarming the area.Even local hospitals will get a chance to test their disaster plans. The exercise feels familiar because we’ve seen crowds targeted in vehicle attacks at OSU, in New York and the U.K. The drill is part of the state’s required training for county emergency management agencies.It’s a practice that should help make us all safer. “It’s a chance just to see what some of our potential gaps are in terms of resources or skills, to identify what those are and to see what further trainings we need to do to close those gaps,” McEwan said.The drill is planned for September 19 and there will be plenty of warnings in the days leading up to the event to remind people it’s not a real emergency.