October was a busy month with training and exercises for the New Jersey EMS Task Force (NJEMSTF), each one designed to increase the organization’s readiness, collaboration, and coordination with agencies across the state.
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On Oct. 8, 90 highly trained members of the NJEMSTF participated in a full-scale exercise at Liberty State Park alongside our partners in law enforcement and EMS from New Jersey and New York. The exercise was a collaborative, multi-agency effort that spanned nine months to bring to fruition and was designed to test the region’s emergency preparedness ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup.

A day later, the NJEMSTF incident advance team participated in an Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) exercise to test the response to fictional explosions and Sarin Gas exposures at a mall in Passaic County and a Union County train station along the Morris/Essex line.

And on Oct. 14 and 15, members of the NJEMSTF, alongside McCabe Ambulance, University Hospital EMS Special Operations Group and Rescue Division, participated in the UASI Metro Urban Search and Rescue (MUSAR) full-scale exercise in Bayonne, NJ.
The simulated scenario involved a terror attack at a commuter rail station, resulting in mass casualties and structural collapse. NJEMSTF personnel integrated directly with MUSAR rescue teams, delivering on-site triage and medical care to simulated victims trapped throughout the incident area.

The multi-layered drills and training were in addition to the organization’s planning for the potential of a Nor’easter and the dispatch of NJEMSTF assets to events throughout the state, including football games at MetLife Stadium, a woodland rescue in Cedar Grove, and fires in Middletown, Newark, and Woodbridge.
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These exercises continue to test our systems, engage our members, and assure that we are ready for potential deployments, should they occur.