Beginning at 8 a.m. today, West Metro Fire in conjunction with St. Anthony Hospital and the City of Lakewood will participate in a drill to test disaster readiness. Local agencies participating in the disaster drill include Lakewood Police Department and Regional Transportation District (RTD).

The live scenario, which simulates a chemical bomb explosion at a nearby RTD Light Rail station will be orchestrated to test disaster readiness regarding incident command, decontamination, use of the information systems, communication and the hospital’s ability to treat a high volume of injured patients.

Decontamination tents will be set up, and the hospital will be actively decontaminating both walk-in patients and patients transported by emergency vehicles. The decontamination area will be set up outside the hospital’s ambulance entrance and on the south side of the hospital.

The disaster readiness drill is part of the agencies’ ongoing efforts to ensure readiness capability, safety and security in the event of a disaster.