Sea Launch Home Port, based
in Long Beach Harbor, hosted a Mass Casualty exercise this morning managed
by the City of Long Beach. While a serious incident was simulated, no
actual emergency existed and no injuries were sustained.
The objective of the federally-funded exercise was to create an opportunity
in which multiple city, state, county and national agencies could
practice emergency response actions individually and also in coordination
with each other. In addition, the event allowed Sea Launch to practice
its own on-site emergency/crisis plans and to work with the agencies
involved in such activity.
The two-and-a-half-hour exercise began with a 9:15 a.m. simulated
explosion in which several Sea Launch employees posed as victims.
The scenario called for a terrorist organization to take responsibility
for the explosion. For the Sea Launch personnel who participated and/or
observed, the event was an excellent learning experience.
“We are fortunate the City of Long Beach selected the Sea Launch
Home Port to execute this Mass Casualty Exercise,” said Bo Bejmuk,
general manager of the Home Port. “We had an excellent opportunity
to demonstrate our own crisis management plan and to work with our
helpful neighboring agencies. I’m convinced we all learned something
very significant here today.”
Participating agencies included: Long Beach Fire Department, Long
Beach Police, Long Beach Harbor Department, Long Beach Search and
Rescue, Long Beach Transit, Long Beach Department of Health Services,
Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Los Angeles County Fire Department,
Los Angeles County HazMat, Los Angeles County Department of Health
Services, California Fish and Game, U.S. Coast Guard, Mutual Aid,
Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, Los Angeles County
Operational Area Medical Strike Team, California Office of Emergency
Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sea Launch is an international launch services company that places
commercial communications satellites into orbit around the Earth.
Using two ocean-going vessels, the company uses a floating platform
positioned on the equator to launch its Zenit-3SL rocket into space.
For more information about Sea Launch, please visit our website at:
http://www.sea-launch.com
Contact: Paula Korn, 562.951.7348
paula.korn@sea-launch.com
