That ‘emergency’ near Port of Tacoma today? It was just a training exercise
There was no incident near the Port of Tacoma on Saturday morning — it was just a drill.
Sound Transit performed a routine, emergency response drill around 11 a.m. on Oct. 26. The safety exercise centered around 3600 Port of Tacoma Road, just west of the Pierce County container terminal.
Just after noon on Saturday, some local residents shared a “multi-casualty” alert near the address from the Tacoma Fire Department. The agency quickly jumped into the comments to clarify: “It’s only a drill!”
David Jackson, Sound Transit spokesperson, confirmed the planned drill with local media Friday afternoon.
These kinds of drills are an integral part of the transit agency’s safety plan, which was last updated in January 2023.
A drill is a “type of operations-based emergency exercise that is used to test a specific function or capability in a single agency or organization,” according to the manual. “Drills are commonly used to provide training on new equipment, validate procedures, or practice and maintain current skills.”
Running drills and exercises help various stakeholders improve communication and coordination with first responders.
Federal Transit Administration regulations also require at least one “full-scale exercise” every year. Sound Transit usually runs several, the agency says in its safety plan.
This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 1:58 PM.