UTA simulates terror attack, a dozen agencies join for training

SALT LAKE CITY – You may see a lot of ambulances and police officers around Trax and Frontrunner stops.  Officials with UTA are conducting one of the largest training exercises they’ve ever done.

The scenario being reenacted is one that UTA officials hope never happens.  Utah Transit Authority Safety Officer Daniel Riley says, “We have an attack that happened on a light rail train in West Valley.  A couple of bombs detonated.”  There was also a mock attack on the Central Station in downtown Salt Lake City.

Bomb-seeking robots, hazmat crews and nearly 100 volunteers were on hand, depicting victims or a victim’s family.  “I think, every exercise, we try to outdo ourselves a little bit more.  The purpose of that is not to say, ‘Hey, look how great we are.’  It’s to give everyone a chance to come out and practice with us,” Riley says.

Although Salt Lake City is not commonly thought of as a terrorist target, he says they make these simulations bigger and more complicated e very year, just in case.  Riley adds, “We’ve been fortunate that we have lots of reps here from different agencies, not only here in Utah, but from across the country.  We have Amtrak here.  We have the FBI here.”

Tomorrow, they’ll be simulating bombings at Rice Eccles Stadium to see how well they can get information to the loved ones of terror victims.