BENGALURU: In an attempt to prepare its staffers for any emergencies inside Metro station premises, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) carried out its first mock exercise on handling a chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear material attack (CBRN). The venue was the concourse area of Vidhana Soudha Metro Station. Train services ran uninterrupted, a release said.
The drill, which began at 11am, lasted an hour. A smoke bomb was burst, and its fumes spread rapidly across the station, creating a real-life situation. A few minutes before the exercise commenced, announcements were made on the public address system that a mock drill was being done and there was no need to panic.
Specifying details, the release said, “Non-harmful coloured fumes using chemicals were generated in the station premises to create a scenario similar to that which happens when a smoke bomb is used. Metro staffers nominated as ‘passengers’ simulated fainting, while a few of them ran seeking assistance.”
The Station Controller informed the Central Command and Security Surveillance to seek the intervention of the Disaster Management Authority, since the spread of the smoke was uncontrollable.
Public entry into the station was stopped immediately and those inside were urged to rush out of the station. Train operators were informed not to stop trains at the station.
“The safe automatic feature of shutting down air-conditioning of the station and smoke extraction got activated. The Station Security Team rescued the affected passengers after adopting personal safety measures,” it added.
The State Health Services, State Fire Services, City Civil Police and National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, health services, Fire department and City Civil Police were part of the exercise. “They rushed to the station with emergency response teams for rescue and decontamination. NDRF team took control of the operation and rescued the severely affected passengers,”
it said.