April 28, 2004—Microsoft Corp. will collaborate with the city of Redmond fire and police departments, 911 dispatch center, Overlake Medical Center and other local agencies to conduct an emergency preparedness training exercise to help ensure that the local community can respond in the most coordinated and effective manner in the event of a real emergency.
The exercise is designed to help public and private sectors leverage each other’s expertise and develop a strong, unified emergency response plan. Local agencies conduct these exercises routinely, and Microsoft is helping the city of Redmond fulfill its annual requirement by hosting the event on its campus. This exercise has been designed to simulate an emergency situation with mock patients and emergency vehicles from local law enforcement, fire and emergency agencies.
Microsoft has conducted various joint exercises with outside organizations including the Redmond police and fire departments. This exercise is on a larger scale and is the first to include both primary responder agencies—fire and police—in the same exercise. The city of Redmond attempts to exercise the city’s MCI plan annually. Although the size, complexity and scenarios vary, as do the agencies and companies involved, drills of this size occur once every three or four years.
