In Chesterfield, the old Chesterfield Mall, which will be demolished on October 15, is now used for training exercises by the Metro West Fire Protection District and other agencies. They practice urban search and rescue skills in the empty mall. Such practical exercises provide responders with an invaluable opportunity to hone their skills in an environment that mimics real disaster scenarios, as reported by Fox2Now.
The complex drill involved breaking through two floors to reach people staged in the basement and then carefully rescuing them as if it were an actual disaster. Assistant Chief Les Crews from Monarch Fire Protection District emphasized the rarity of this training scale. "This is a rarity," he said, "I’ve been in this business for a very long time…we’re fortunate the Staenberg Group allowed us to train on this site. So, this was a huge success," as mentioned by Crews told Fox2Now.
Additionally, according to coverage by KSDK, these exercises have transformed the empty area into an active training ground for five local Urban Search Rescue teams, also known as USAR. The mall's transformation into a "playground" where team members could test their limits marks a unique moment, one that Assistant Fire Chief Matt Wilcox from Maplewood Fire Department describes as a "once in a career-type training."
The encompassing scenario, designed to simulate the effects of an earthquake or a massive building collapse, prepares these teams for a variety of emergencies. Echoing Wilcox's sentiments from an earlier interview with KSDK, he told Spectrum Local News, "This is probably a once in a career type training, where else would we get a three-story building to just destroy," showcasing the depth and intensity of the exercise. The teams initiated their operations in the parking lot, later breaching the structure's roof to practice extractions, an undertaking made possible by the expansive nature of the facility.
First responders are using specialized gear from after the 9/11 attacks to improve their skills at a 90-acre site owned by the Staenberg Group. The group, which will develop the site into a downtown project by 2028, offered the location for these important training sessions as a community service. Taylor Reich of the Staenberg Group noted the significance of the event, stating, "We look at this as kind of the closing ceremony, as a way to service the Chesterfield community by allowing first responders in here to play around and learn and usually get that experience from," as documented by Fox2Now.
