Emergency responders, extinguishers in hand, chase a "victim" of a mock terrorist attack in an attempt to save him during an exercise Monday at Daejin University in South Korea. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
POCHEON CITY, South Korea — A mock terrorist attack on a university campus was quickly quelled Monday by a dozen military, law enforcement and emergency service agencies — including two U.S. Army units.
More than 5,000 people and 100 pieces of equipment were involved in the exercise at Daejin University, which had more pyrotechnics than a Kiss concert and more doomsday scenarios than a "Die Hard" movie.
The exercise lasted almost an hour and featured one scenario after another. It began with more than a dozen "students" running out of a building after having been shot, and one who was literally on fire and had to be extinguished. Military personnel stormed the building both from the ground and air.
Temporary walls fell to reveal several people buried in the rubble of a collapsed building. A vehicle rode through the area spewing "toxic" gas. Smoke billowed from windows. Three vehicles burst into flames. Emergency vehicles of seemingly every sort came and went after picking up patients or dropping off personnel.
Shim Pyoung-kang — the head of Gyeonggi-do Province 2nd Fire & Disaster Management Headquarters and the coordinator of the exercise — said "cooperation and coordination" were the goals of the day.
Despite steady rain throughout the afternoon, Shim said the agencies involved were getting a good look at how best to use the materials and equipment from each unit.
Representatives of the Camp Red Cloud Fire Department and 4-58th Airfield Operations Battalion from Camp Humphreys participated in the event.
Red Cloud Fire Chief John H. Cook said mutual-aid cooperation among the agencies is essential.
"By having the mutual-aid agreements, we don’t have to try and buy all the [equipment] for every possible worst thing that could happen," he said. "We can call on each other to help and they may have special equipment we don’t have, or we may have special equipment they don’t have.
"If you have a national disaster, a lot of people need to work together."
Pointing out that there are more than 10 million people in Gyeonggi-do Province, he added, "They have to plan for big things because anything can happen anywhere. No single city, no single department will be able to take care of a really large incident.
"So, in order to work together, you have to practice."
Emergency responders, extinguishers in hand, chase a "victim" of a mock terrorist attack in an attempt to save him during an exercise Monday at Daejin University in South Korea. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
Children look on during Monday's mock terrorist attack at Daejin University, during which representatives of a dozen agencies - including two U.S. military units - responded with more than 100 pieces of equipment. Several of the children are holding their ears or noses during the loud and smoky exercise. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
A "victim" is carried to an ambulance as an emergency responder rappels from a helicopter during Monday's mock terrorist attack at Daejin University in South Korea. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
Firefighters from Camp Red Cloud extinguish a car on fire during the exercise. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
Members of the 4-58th Airfield Operations Battalion stand together with representatives of various Korean emergency response agencies at the conclusion of the exercise. (Jon Rabiroff / Stars and Stripes)
