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Emergency training drills to take place in South Philly

City officials are warning residents that several emergency units will conduct training exercises in the area from July 27 and 28.

The United States Army Task Force 46, a specialized homeland security response unit, will partner with first responder and healthcare partners in Philadelphia for Dense Urban Terrain exercise.

Residents could see uniformed officials taking part in training simulations at several locations in South Philadelphia including the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the CSX Railyard and the SEPTA NRG Station. 

The DUT series of training exercises originated in Detroit in 2018 and have also been held in large cities like Los Angeles and New York City since then. It is considered one of the nation’s premier all-hazard and homeland defense exercises.

The joint-training will test interagency planning, search and rescue, communications, and emergency systems during simulated chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear incident responses.

Residents in the area could see members of the city’s police and fire department, as well as military personnel, helicopters, boats and role players with mock injuries participating in the drills, which will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Drills will take place at the Navy Yard and CSX Railyard on July 27. Simulations will be staged at the SEPTA NRG Station at Broad and Pattison on July 28. Drills will also take place in other parts of the city and local hospitals including Albert Einstein, Penn Presbyterian, Pennsylvania, Temple, and Thomas Jefferson will be utilized.

Officials warn that there may be temporary traffic and access closures surrounding exercise locations. This includes parking lots at Linden and Delaware avenues at Pleasant Hill Park, Wells Fargo Center lots A, B, G, and H and the area of Kitty Hawk Ave and League Island Boulevard. Access to the Navy Yard shuttle from NRG station and access to SEPTA’s NRG station should not be impacted.
Official information regarding exercise activity will be published on 46th Military Police Command Facebook and Instagram, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management Twitter and Facebook pages.
 “This joint exercise is a culmination of nearly 10 months of planning highlighted by over two dozen steering committee and workgroup meetings between more than 18 local, state, and federal partners, all with the goal of working together to support the shared homeland security mission,” said Dominick Mireles, Director, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management. “Training is an essential, core function of emergency management. It is critical that agencies across all levels of public service and safety have a common understanding of plans, resources, capabilities, and contacts through these combined practice operations in the event an actual emergency should happen.”



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