Golden Guardian Comes to San Jose

First responders from multiple agencies, including the San Jose Fire Department, descended upon San Jose's Municipal Stadium for the Golden Guardian 2007 bioterrorism drill held on Wednesday, November 14.

The scenario required interagency cooperation to contend with a mock terrorist attack on a music festival using airborne pneumonic plague. San Jose Fire units, directed by Deputy Incident Commander Kevin Conant, initiated a full-scale response using the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to manage all aspects of the drill. Firefighters from San Jose Stations 1 and 29 worked with firefighters from Santa Clara County, Mountain View, Gilroy, CAL FIRE, and medical personnel from American Medical Response, Silicon Valley Ambulance, and the Santa Clara County EMS Agency.

The primary goal of the exercise was to deploy multiple resources on a single mass casualty incident to determine overall readiness and agency interoperability. Several hundred volunteers played the part of concert goers, all needing some level of assistance ranging from immediate medical attention, evacuation, and emergency medication.

Submitted by: SJFD Photographer, Craig Allyn Rose