5.1.3 Practice

Continue Ongoing Training and Practice – “A consistent theme identified in the interview process was that the agencies involved in responding to the Howard Street Tunnel fire had effective plans in place and were prepared to respond to an emergency. Emergency response personnel were on site literally within minutes of the fire being reported and incident command procedures were established promptly. What complicated efforts was that these agencies had not planned for a situation where both a hazardous materials spill and a fire occurred in the same incident, which created some difficulties with establishing response priorities. The agencies interviewed all stressed the importance of on-going training and practice as the key to developing and maintaining incident response capabilities.”
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Howard Street Tunnel Fire, Baltimore City
Practice for an Emergency Response – “Agency officials involved in each of the case studies repeatedly stressed the need and value of practicing for emergency response. In the words of one transit official from New Jersey, the most important thing is ‘practice, practice, practice.’ The practice of emergency procedures can teach and reinforce lessons first learned in classroom training. A practice exercise is most useful when it involves representatives from multiple transportation and emergency response agencies and results in relationship-building among these agencies in how best to respond to a crisis.”
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Cross-Cutting Study
Practice for the Unexpected – “There is a need to practice for the expected and unexpected. Knowledge gained and relationships developed through day-to-day contact are extremely useful when catastrophes strike. The I-95 Corridor Coalition was able to help its member agencies disseminate information on roadway conditions all along the Eastern Seaboard. During the 1980s, the City prepared a draft single occupancy vehicle ban on automobiles in case of the subway strike. This single occupancy vehicle ban was not needed at the time but served as the basis for the single occupancy vehicle ban 20 years later, when New York City began to experience debilitating traffic jams as security checks were put in place at key points.”
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Cross-Cutting Study
“Reduce the Time Required for Implementation and Setup of Various Evacuation Strategies – This must be done due to the short time period available for evacuation in some types of disasters. For example, create a modeling/simulation tool to assist in the development (in near real-time) of evacuation plans. Also, lane reversal might not be a feasible alternative for disasters with little or no forewarning if it takes a long time to setup the operation.”
Disaster Response and Evacuation User Service: An Addendum to the ITS Program Plan
“Rehearse Emergency Response Plans – Emergency response plans are only as good as the preparations and support that go along with them.”
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: August 2003 Northeast Blackout Great Lakes Region
Rely Upon Field Staff to Take Action – “Due to prior training and relying on personnel in the field to take action, New York City Transit was able to begin emergency operations of its subway system within one minute of the attack because a subway train operator stopped at Courtland Station felt the vibrations below ground from the plane crashing into the towers and reported that something was wrong. The PATH system began similar procedures six minutes after the first attack as an employee at the train control center in New Jersey ordered the trains to evacuate people at the World Trade Center station and express to safety in New Jersey.”
Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Cross-Cutting Study

February 7, 2006
Publication #FHWA–HOP-08-015