New York City Emergency Services Prepare for America's 'Worst Day'

A joint US Army / NYC exercise on Randall Island prepares the Big Apple for America's "worst day," reports The New York Post... Emergency services are preparing for any scenario - from a missile attack on Yankee Stadium to a bioweapon attack on the city's subway system.

“Everyone needs to get back to training,” said Colonel Chris McKinney, chief of staff for Task Force 46 in the Army. - And you see happiness on the faces of the guys. Because they get the opportunity to practice their craft and learn from the best in their field.

“I mean FDNY, NYPD - they've done so many things,” McKinney said.

The three-day exercise, which ended Thursday, August 6, involved the city's firefighters, NYPD and air and sea port police. They worked alongside National Guard troops to prepare for the worst.

Everyone should learn to speak the same language

“They speak the army language, we speak the fire department,” said FDNY battalion chief Edward Ryan. “Working together helps us understand each other's jargons.

"Little things, for example, we have what we call the FAST Team, which is the fire brigade," Ryan said. “They call it RIT or Rapid Response Team. The same basic idea, different terminology. So after training today, I now understand what I hear from other teams. "

The situation for the exercise, including the rapid response to a biological attack on the subway, is not so exaggerated or unrealistic. Especially after the city survived September 11, 2001.

In 2018, an accidental explosion of a steam pipe in the metro system spread asbestos through the tunnels. Had to evacuate 50 buildings in Midtown.

“It's about building relationships,” McKinney said of the exercise. - It is necessary to contribute to the development of reliability and trust. And this is what we and these partners need if we ever have to repel a blow together. And that's why we train - we need to know what we are doing, we need to know how to connect to the network to protect the city. "