Disaster Drills Promise Pre-Halloween Blood and Gore

By Lauren Smiley Fri., Oct. 14 2011 at 12:45 PM

Categories: Local News

No pulse! No pulse!

Saturday morning, you will find screaming victims writhing on the ground throughout city parks. Throngs of trained rescue workers will be on hand to carry them off on stretchers.

Be not alarmed, dear San Franciscans. This is not a zombie flash mob, and no, you didn't miss Halloween. Loma Prieta II did not strike while you were sleeping off your hangover.

What you will be viewing is the city's Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, which is staging its annual disaster drill, in commemoration of the 1989 earthquake.

While you are living in fear waiting for the big geological fault to slip, these drills are at the very least entertaining, if not downright life-saving.

The training sessions will be going on during mid-morning hours at North Beach Playground, Hamilton Recreation Field in the Western Addition, Holly Park in Bernal Heights, Parkside Playground in the Outer Sunset, and Balboa Playground in Mission Terrace.

A press release went out this morning promising action shots of volunteers in hats and emergency response clothing simulating catastrophic incidents.

Let's just hope they remember what to do when the Big One hits.

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