Dozens of law enforcement, medical assistance and state agency officials from Ames, Iowa State and surrounding counties responded to a simulated terrorist bombing and train derailment on the ISU campus Tuesday.

The “terrorist attack” was a joint training exercise held at the Fire Service Institute on Haber Road. The greater Ames community and various Iowa emergency response teams participated to evaluate emergency preparedness in Ames for similar real-life situations.

“The main objective of this exercise is to test the ability of the newly developed Emergency Operations Center and evaluate how we are able to manage major incidents and respond to emergencies,” said Ken Kerns, training exercise coordinator and associate director of the ISU environmental health and safety department.

This is the first time Ames has conducted an exercise on such a large scale, as it brought together representatives from various agencies in 16 of Iowa’s 99 counties, said Bob Kindred, Ames assistant city manager. The exercise was also the first time Ames and the university have used a joint Emergency Operations Center to coordinate all activities among the various departments and agencies involved in responding to a terrorist attack, Kindred said.

In past exercises, activities were coordinated between the university and Ames Police Department from their dual emergency operation centers at the Armory and Ames police station, respectively, Kerns said.

In this exercise, officials were informed that a train had derailed on the Stange Road bridge by Frederiksen Court, which caused hazardous materials to spill out, creating a toxic gas threat in surrounding areas. Officials were later told the derailment was a result of a bomb explosion and that civilians were hurt or in danger, including a school bus full of children who were trapped underneath one of the derailed cars.

“New problems were presented throughout the exercise to test each area of the Emergency Operations Center, such as wind shifts and the possibility of the cause of the derailment being a terrorist bombing,” Kindred said.

Emergency priorities included securing the scene, providing medical services to victims, neutralizing hazardous materials, evacuating the in-danger area, adapting to situation changes and investigating the bombing, Kindred said.

Rather than conduct a similar exercise where officials respond to a mock situation by going out into the field, Kerns said it was important that Tuesday’s exercise test department’s ability to orchestrate, plan and communicate activities in times of emergency.

“This test validates emergency procedures and lets decision-makers become comfortable with each other, making the learning curve smaller,” said Lori Morrissey, Story County emergency management coordinator.

Another aspect the training exercise tested was officials’ ability to inform the public of immediate dangers through press conferences, Morrissey said.

“University relations plays a lead role in gathering and disseminating information,” said John McCarroll, director of university relations. “An event of this size, incorporating many jurisdictions, complicates things … and the dissemination of important information is crucial in a real-life emergency.”

Response efforts and the newly developed Emergency Operations Center were evaluated by state-contracted third parties. Official evaluations have not been released to the press.

At the end of the exercise, however, several officials said all testing criteria were met, but specific areas of improvement were not yet available.

“I’m confident that our ability to respond to a variety of unusual occurrences is quite professional, and exercises like this only serve to enhance our ability to effectively respond,” said Jerry Stewart, director of the Department of Public Safety on campus.

The last test of Ames preparedness for emergency situations was two or three years ago, McCarroll said.