White Plains, NY — Federal, state, county, and municipal officials participated in a full scale emergency drill at the Postal Service’s Westchester Processing & Distribution Center at 1000 Westchester Avenue on Tuesday, August 12. The two hour drill included a complete facility evacuation, emergency first responders, and hazmat decontamination of volunteer employees. The exercise tested public and employee safety procedures by simulating an emergency.
At 4:30 p.m. a simulated alarm triggered a complete evacuation by 260 employees from the 460,524 sq. ft. mail processing center. The emergency response included: police cars, fire trucks, EMS vehicles, hazmat equipment and decontamination tents. Several volunteer postal employees went through the actual hazmat decontamination process.
“We really appreciate the outstanding cooperation of our employees and the extensive support from the various agencies in this important exercise,” said USPS Westchester Acting Senior Plant Manager Edward Kerner.
In addition to the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, participating agencies included: NY State Police, NY State Dept. of Health, NY State Office of Emergency Management, Purchase Fire Department, Harrison Police Department, Harrison Emergency Medical Services, Westchester County Office of Emergency Management, Westchester County Hazmat, Westchester County Dept. of Health, and Westchester County Hospital.
“Today’s drill is an example of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the nation’s mail system, its customers and employees,” said New York Division Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett.
Immediately following the completion of the exercise, participants and observers met to review the performance and discuss opportunities for improvement. A comprehensive review and report analysis meeting is set for September 9 for representatives of the participating agencies to review and discuss the results of the exercise.
“The August 12 emergency preparedness drill is tangible evidence of our commitment to employee and public safety through collaborative partnerships with the various federal, state, county, and municipal agencies,” concluded USPS Westchester District Manager Elizabeth Doell.
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