Drill prepares Addison for the worst

Although Addison officials hope for the best of everything in town, they spent this morning preparing for the worst.

The village staged a full-scale disaster drill for four hours along Fullerton Road and Villa Avenue, simulating the aftermath of a tornado with fake casualties, damaged homes and a school evacuation.

The simulation was directed by the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which later will evaluate Addison's performance.

Mayor Larry Hartwig said today's drill went smoothly, even when organizers threw in a surprise simulation.

"They made it as complicated as possible," Hartwig said. "They threw the tornado at us, then we started to deal with that. Then, suddenly, we had a train derailment with a hazardous material situation at the other end of town."

The drill simulated damage to St. Joseph School, and rescue workers evacuated all the students. Nearby homes also had simulated flood damage.

Volunteer Rita Seeling acted as an evacuee from a damaged home, claiming she had three children at school and couldn't reach the building by phone to check their safety.

Seeling said the acting role hit home because she experienced a similar situation with her own children in the 1960s, while they were enrolled at St. Joseph.

"This, to me, was very realistic," Seeling said.

Some fake victims were taken to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, which participated in the drill. Surrounding municipalities also sent firefighters and emergency vehicles, including Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Itasca, Lombard and Roselle.

Five high school students from Technology Center of DuPage acted as reporters covering the disaster.

Cassie Callender or Roselle, Brad Kodak of Carol Stream, Gylmar Ponce of Indian Head Park, Ryan Szumny of Roselle and Paul Yost of Medinah spent their morning trying to coax details out of tight-lipped rescue workers. Later, they participated in a mock press conference with Hartwig.

Although the results of the drill won't be available for several weeks, officials already discovered a few kinks. Antenna problems at the public works department prevented some Addison workers from receiving incoming radio communications.

Hartwig said that's the point: to work out problems before they happen.

"It's a learning experience, and I'm sure glad we do this," Hartwig said. "I breathe easier knowing that there's a plan in place and knowing that we can deal with a disaster that hits us."