How does a city prepare for the unpredictable? For Portland, Oregon, like many other cities, this is a pressing question in the wake of the large-scale terrorist attacks and natural disasters of the past few years.

The numerous public agencies and private organizations that manage Portland's civil infrastructure and services have long had detailed plans, processes, information and resources with which they manage everyday operations as well as common types of disruptions. First responders, for example, analyze, train and test on an ongoing basis. But the city needed a way to assess its ability to mount an effective response to an unforeseen, large scale disaster.

A custom simulation developed and moderated by Crisis Simulations International provided local public officials with not only a comprehensive assessment, but also valuable crisis leadership experience. Soon after the group entered the room, televised news reports showed the city’s Steel Bridge in flames; the result of a rush hour explosion. As details began to unfold, questions and requests for information flooded in via phone, fax and radio. Officials were forced to make rapid, critical decisions based upon their knowledge and experience, and the little information they had about the event.

The reality and complexity of the simulation began to strain the participants’ decision-making abilities almost immediately:

• Officials had to decide whether to delay treating the wounded on the bridge until the bomb squad had swept the bridge for another device.
• The mayor decided to evacuate downtown businesses against the advice of police and fire chiefs. When police and fire squads were dispatched to check other bridges for explosives, gridlock shut down street access into and out of the area.
• When participants decided not to advise the public against making non-emergency phone calls, call volume quickly overwhelmed the system, which also supported police and fire communications.

The simulation lasted 2 hours and was facilitated by Col. Dave McIntyre, former Dean of the National War College and member of Crisis Simulations International’s network of subject matter experts. Other experts from Sandia National Laboratories participated via closed-circuit camera, and provided detailed consequence analysis. The simulation was immediately followed by a 3 hour educational session, which focused upon a range of topics related to decision-making strategy, infrastructure analysis and inter-domain process integration.

In addition to the strategic and tactical knowledge gained from the session, participants found great value in the opportunity to work together. Police Commander Greg Hendricks observed, “when we have a catastrophe or a crisis occur, we’re thrust together without warning—together with a group of people that we not only rarely see, we may not even know who they are or what their responsibilities are.” During circumstances in which there may be no clear “right” decision, senior leaders’ collaborative experience and mutual trust may be a community’s greatest asset.