First mass casualty drill being conducted on Milwaukee’s streetcar
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – It’s a first for “The Hop.” Emergency responders will conduct a mass casualty drill Friday morning on the streetcar tracks in Milwaukee.
Officials tell CBS 58 the scenario for the drill is a suspicious package detonating with multiple people on the streetcar. There will be live actors playing the victims.
More than 10 groups are participating. They include:
- Milwaukee Fire Department
- Milwaukee Police Department
- Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office
- WI Department of Transportation
- We Energies
- Bell Ambulance
- Department of Public Works
- Amtrak
- TransDev (Streetcar operator)
- Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management
Another drill is being scheduled for later this summer.
Back in May, CBS 58 went behind the scenes with members of Milwaukee’s Heavy Urban Rescue Team as they prepared for what could go wrong with The Hop. CBS 58 Morning Anchor Jessica Tighe was invited to the Milwaukee Fire Academy to get an exclusive look as firefighters trained for a derailment using an old bus. They used the same techniques they'd use for a rescue with "The Hop."
The streetcar is scheduled to open to the public in November.