Postal Service And First Responders To Hold Emergency Drill April 24

Exercise At Citygate Facility To Test Biohazard Alert Response

COLUMBUS, OH — A large-scale emergency exercise, including a practice evacuation, will take place at the U.S. Postal Service’s Columbus Processing and Distribution Center, 2323 Citygate Drive, on Thursday, April 24, 2008 from approximately 3:45 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.

The Postal Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Columbus Police Department, Columbus Fire Department, and Columbus Public Health will participate.

Citygate Drive between Four Oaks Court and Agler Road will be closed between 3:45 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day of the exercise.

The purpose of the exercise is to provide practical experience to all participants in the event of a biohazard alert. “This drill will allow all first responders to simulate their respective actions in the event of an actual alert at the Postal Service processing facility, said Todd Throckmorton, local Homeland Security Coordinator with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “We feel an obligation to the community to be prepared should an actual emergency occur.”

Columbus police will provide security and traffic control services, while firefighters will conduct a biohazard response, including decontamination of volunteer participants. Columbus Public Health will simulate gathering health information, counseling participants and providing emergency medication.

Mail processing operations will continue and the exercise will have no impact on mail delivery.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.