By Steve Stone
Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia)
Copyright 2006 Virginian-Pilot
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — It’s only a drill.
Folks living around the former Hunt Mapp Middle School in the 3700 block of Willett Drive should not be worried early today if they see heavily armed police and emergency vehicles moving in and out.
Beginning about 7 a.m., Portsmouth will play host to a regional training exercise involving more than 800 people from local, state and federal agencies.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee is staging the drill, said Ann Hope, a police spokeswoman.
“The exercise will test a regional response to an incident occurring within a school,” she said.
The exercise will include students and staff from local schools as role players and evaluators.
Also involved in the training is the Portsmouth Fire Department, the Police Department, Emergency Medical Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.
Residents of the area were notified Oct. 15 and again Oct. 22 of the planned drill via the reverse-911 calling system.
“The citizens were made aware of the potential to see police SWAT officers in full gear, along with fire and rescue personnel acting in what appears to be a real-life scenario,” Hope said.