THE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AREA FIRE DEPARTMENTS have been holding a series of disaster and multi-casualty drills over the summer that have involved scores of departments training to work together in large incidents. Firegeezer posted a story on June 16 HERE about a 5-day exercise in which more than 50 different agencies – fire, rescue, military, police, health, etc. – worked several different mass casualty drills.
(Hank Sajovic)
This last Friday they held another exercise timed to coincide with the IAFC Convention held in Chicago. This massive drill was the largest such undertaking ever in the U. S. It called for the assembly of at least 90 fire units from four states in each of three staging areas….. a total of 297 emergency fire and EMS units in 90 minutes.
They were dispatched and assembled in task forces that each comprised of:
- 1 chief and 1 aide
- 3 engines
- 1 truck
- 1 squad
- 3 ambulances
The total of 33 task forces that brought over 900 firefighters were mustered from each of the 33 areas that comprise the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), the regional mutual aid system that has been in operation since 1968. In Friday’s drill, the participation of Milwaukee Task Force 109 and Chicago Task Force 9 together in the north staging area marked the first time since the Great Chicago Fire that the two departments had apparatus “working together at the same incident.”
North Staging Area – Minute 1 (Larry Shapiro photo)
North Staging Area – Minute 90 (Hank Sajovic photo)
The four states that participated were Illinois (27 task forces), Wisconsin (4), Indiana (1), and Michigan (1). You can read the seven objectives that they wanted to accomplish in the exercise in the MABAS press release HERE. Fire photographers Larry Shapiro and Hank Sajovic documented the massive exercise and their photos are posted in extensive galleries HERE-Shapiro (398 images), and HERE-Sajovic (433 images).
Staff personnel at two computer stations checked in all personnel
via bar-coded MABAS issued ID cards. (above and below)
(Larry Shapiro photos)
Firegeezer notes: There are a lot of great apparatus and “door” shots in those photo galleries. Be sure and click on them and take a look. Over 830 images for your 3-day weekend viewing pleasure.
Larry Shapiro photo
photo by Hank Sajovic
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