NFPA Journal - May/June 2017 - 66

BOSTON 2017

Conference & Expo

communities. In 2012, the exercise scenario was a multifaceted terrorist attack in Boston, which included an improvised
explosive device on Boylston Street. These scenarios test the
emergency response capabilities of multiple agencies including police, fire, emergency medical services, hospitals, and
emergency managers, Schwartz said. As Howitt pointed out,
though, such training has to be practiced to be effective.
I asked Davis if Boston's experience was applicable to other
communities. "I think everything else that we've done to prepare for that event and to mitigate the damage that the event
caused is certainly something that can be practiced by other
cities and can be handled in much the same ways," he said.
Davis noted one exception to that: Boston's exceptional
medical response resources. There are seven level-one
trauma centers in Boston, including two pediatric level-one
centers, most within five to 10 minutes of the bombing site
on Boylston Street. The 2012
marathon had been unseasonably warm, resulting
in a surge of patients with
heat-related health issues.
For 2013, the medical plan
had enhanced to ensure
that medical tents had the
capabilities to handle more
patients, meaning a large
number of medically trained
personnel were on hand.
People critically injured
in the bombings received
essential life support services at the scene and were
rapidly transported to hospitals in what was described
by one paramedic as a
"scoop and go." Ambulances
loaded with patients were
en route to hospitals within
nine minutes of the first detonation. The blasts occurred
In Boston, events like the Womens March, which drew 175,000 in January, have occurred without incident.
shortly before the hospitals'
afternoon shift changes, and
This was not by accident. The Boston Police Commissioner
day shift workers were kept on to essentially double the staff
in April 2013 was Edward F. Davis, a veteran police officer
available to treat marathon victims. Because it was a holiday,
whose "calm and reassuring response garnered him national
Patriots Day, there were no elective surgeries scheduled, and
praise," according to The Boston Globe. Davis had held quarhospital staffs were able to operate beyond normal capacity.
terly breakfasts with state police, emergency management
Every one of the 264 victims transported to hospitals, includofficials, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. "We ing the 16 people with traumatic amputations, survived.
got to know each other and talk about ongoing challenges
Had the bombs gone off at the starting line, 26 miles away
that we had," Davis told me. "We had each other's phone
in Hopkinton, it is likely the outcome would have been much
numbers. There was an amount of trust and mutual respect.
worse. That's why marathon organizers now deploy a mobile
We pushed it beyond the leadership to the components of the force of ambulances and medical teams that moves along the
different agencies working together on sports victories and
route as the runners progress.
other celebrations."
Many agencies had also participated in joint exercises,
Out of chaos, clarity
including tabletop exercises and a full-scale Urban Shield
The passage of time can blur how much Boston authorities
exercise, which includes Boston and eight surrounding
had to think outside the box during an intense, exhausting

66 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 7

GETT Y IMAGES

Chief among the strengths was the trust and personal
familiarity previously established among authorities with
jurisdiction, allowing them to address complex incidents in
ways that could not be anticipated in a written plan.
After the bombs went off, senior public safety officers
quickly set up a unified command post in a nearby hotel,
staffed by senior officers from various agencies. Senior commanders "instinctively and because of their preparations
knew to look for each other and create a physical place
where they could command and plan together and deploy
their people in a coordinated way," said Harvard study coauthor Arnold M. Howitt, adjunct lecturer in public policy
and a senior advisor for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. "They were conditioned by their
experience of collaborating in all these major events...they
were used to operating in a joint way."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2017