Ohio Town Solicits Zombie Volunteers to Test Emergency Preparedness Plan
- Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:00am by
Liz Klimas
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Participants of the zombie emergency preparedness drill have been asked to keep costumes relatively appropriate as 8-year-olds will be present. (Image via Delaware County)
The Delaware County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Delaware General Health District wants some of its residents to die. Well, become zombies, not really die. And by becoming zombies, it means pretend to be zombies and still not really die.
In an effort to engage its community in a hazardous materials emergency preparation exercise, the Office of Homeland Security has put out a petition for 250 volunteers to done their best zombie look this Halloween. The effort will test first responders in how they handle hazardous materials exercises and, in an attempt to maintain the realism of zombie culture, first responders who come in contact with a hazardous material will become zombies themselves.
Like the Center for Disease Control, which published a guide earlier this year to survive a zombie attack, and Tom Deaderick who created a map depicting the each state’s zombie survivability rate, these Delaware County groups are using the zombie craze gain interest and participation their community in a more serious emergency preparedness drill.
The local NBC affiliate, NBC4, reports 67 living have volunteered to become the undead, as of yesterday:
EMA Director Brian Galligher said “We would like to have a lot more volunteers, because we need real people to realistically assess how fast and how well our mass decontamination and medication procedures would work in an actual emergency.”
The EMA wants to make the event fun for volunteers. Participants will get free T-shirts, and judges will award plaques to zombies with the best costumes, best makeup, and best zombie shuffle.
Volunteers as young as 8 are welcome, although everyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
NBC4 reports that the CDC suggested this “tongue-in-cheek” approach to teaching residents and emergency responders about preparedness for actual events like floods and blizzards.
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Comments (45)
jimwolfalaska
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 11:37amYou can get all the zombies you want from congress, they will not even have act, I am sure obama would let them play.
Report Post »V-MAN MACE
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:47pmThis is a ploy to test forced vaccinations!
AKA forced sterilization!
AKA forced genetic manipulation!
AKA forced Eugenics!
Report Post »hvy_gunner_0331
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 10:19amA Zombie Attack scenario is the best way to get first responders involved in something fun. The usual “canned drills” simply elicit a “canned response”, whereas a zombie attack tests all of the aspects of a community’s first respond, EMS, public communication, HAZMAT capabilities.
Report Post »Don’t read too much into this, it’s a great way to get folks excited about a drill.
Darkomni
Posted on October 27, 2011 at 12:45amSound like fun and funny drill.
Report Post »flfshrmn
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:57amHomeland Security and FEMA have been conducting Martial Law drills in cities all over the US as of late. Colorado most recently.LOOK IT UP. Do they expect Colorado to get invaded or something? I don’t trust any of it.
Report Post »FEMA has camps set up all over the country capable of handling up to 12mill. people…………which people are they expecting to have to secure in these compounds? Homeland Security doesn’t think it is necessary to secure our Southern Borders from intruders yet, they have set up enough compounds to handle millions of people. The states can’t hadle the over burdened prison population and are releasing prisoners, yet FEMA and DHS have enough space in their camps to handle millions of people.
Once again I ask, which people?
develdog84
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:17pmFEMA camps??? Get real, that bs rumor has been around sense the 80s. I have spent over 20 years driving all over the country and never found any thing like that. And I have been to a lot of out of the way places over the years. Besides some one would have had to haul the material and equipment to build them. I spent 10 years with a gov contractor, with the security clearance going back to my years as a Marine, I would have probably have gotten to haul some of that if they existed
Report Post »jhrusky
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:46pm@develdog84
You have to follow the stickers on the back of road signs … that will lead you to the fema camps.
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:44amWonder what the “PLAN” is? A LOT of talk about this lately.. just saying….
Report Post »blackcatrun
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 8:38amReality of a fast moving virus is real. When the infected are mobile even more scary. WE have no idea what rogue nations have brewed in the basement. Moreover the new technoligy of DNA manipulation can make a virus that leaves the infected very mobile in a population.
Report Post »The recent shift of events in the middle east radical islam taking over governments now money power population rescources are at the command the threat triples.
Why not make the test a bit more fun a bit more real to partake in dueirng hallowen time?
I understand we have resoans to not trust the obama regiem. But all the government is not evil and vile like those whom are running the show, there are real Americans who love this nation and want it protected in our government. I think this idea came from one of those people.
1791TR
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 8:09amGo get a bunch of zombies on occupy wall street.
Report Post »drago
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 8:06amRemember, aim for the head………
Report Post »Vanbars
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:41amRecent polling data suggests the Zombie population will be a pivotal voting bloc in the 2012 elections. Conservatives need to reach out to the Zombies and work to meet their unique needs. For example, Zombies are 10 times more likely to not have health insurance. This must be addressed. In addition, we’ve all seen the horrible examples of discrimination against Zombies, employers enforcing strict dress codes and hygiene protocols and firing Zombies en masse when those rules are broken. Do something good, reach out to a Zombie today and let him/her/it know that you care!
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:29amI think this is actually a little fun and scary at the same time. I have no doubt that they think we are all zombies but I agree with most of the posts here that all the zombie talk coming out of the government lately is a little unnerving. Not that I‘m going down the rabbit hole that says they’ll try something that will actually turn us into zombies but do they know of an attack threat that they’re not talking about or something a kin to 9/11 that is being planned? Find it ironic that in the midst of Iran about to gain nuclear weapons we are in the process today of dismantling ours. Maybe they really are planning for us to be “walking dead.” like I don’t know the few that survived the blast in Hiroshima but worse since nowadays the nuclear weapons are bigger and badder. I’m just saying.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:14amMy only wish would be that there be real zombies in the world to eat dumbass poliicians that spend our money on stupid crap like this! This is BEYOND dumb. Whant a bunch of idiots you have in charge Ohio.
Report Post »TaraR42
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:55amWas at Children‘s Hospital in Columbus Ohio last week in their trauma unit they had signs posted everywhere about Biological attacks chemical and Dirty Bomb’s a what to do if this happens poster… Hanging right over one of the beds in the unit…. a little unnerving to say the least …like someone else said something big is getting ready to happen don’t know what…. Just be prepared
Report Post »scout n ambush
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:39amSorry i just don’t understand the pretense what is a zombie drill? Unless everybody grabs a gun and kills zombies isn’t that what usually happens ?Can i break in my new Bushmaster ,(using blanks of course) i named her marge after margret sanger. Now i would volunteer for that.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:01amIf they wanted people to be concerned about a real zombie threat, would they be desensitizing people to the idea of actual Hollywood-like zombies?
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:02amI think they think Americans are so small minded that that is how they get them to participate.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:08amIt seems like maybe zombie is code for the way people will react to an event of epic proportion like massive power outage. Because people will walk around like “Duh, what’s happening.” And lets face it, most Americans are pretty lost in limbo.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:14amBecause there really is the possibility of some thing happening of epic proportions. It could be a super volcano, or a massive solar-flare resulting in the power grid getting disabled, and if that isn’t enough it might be the entire global economy collapsing, or even alien ships dismantling the world-wide brain-washing structure. It can be any or several of those things.
Report Post »ProScrub
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:31amI wish this zombie test was in my town. I know a few dozen guys and girls who’d love to be part of a horde. We actually roamed the streets a couple years ago on halloween all dressed as zombies and chasing cars. Maybe it‘s a teenager thing but I think that would be freakin’ fun to be a part of lol. quit being so old guys xD
Report Post »scout n ambush
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:27amOk zombie drills, fema trains &camps test of a emergency system that is un necessary.Why do you need to shut down the whole country or do they plan on something nationwide.Why not test by state would cali need to have a alert do to a chem spill or something of the like in ohio why would all states need to be alerted do to a problem in one place.This makes no sense and its all tied in together along with the UN trying to get control of the internet for cyber security they say article on blacklisted news……….We are being set up!
Report Post »taxedout
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 2:20amFlue shots
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:29amObama knows he won’t have to worry about the zombies wanting to eat brains(theirs anyway…lol) as in the movies bc no one in the goverment has any.
Report Post »Trying to joke about it,,,but PamelaKay I agree this zombie talk is wierd and really can’t figure out what it would have to do with Homeland security and any emergency situation, of course we do have to look at who we are dealing with here…people that are mostly empty upstairs, Homeland security and the CDC.
The zombies are as much fun as the Wall St. crowd for the commies, so they will have plenty of volunteers I am sure.
Drakkhanlord
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:23amCheck out washington post Nationnal..
decididing whether or not to test anthrax vac. on children…
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:40amThey got to be kidding. I had to take that antibiotic which is Cipro and I almost died. That is a serious drug and should only be used in very complicated illnesses, not test…on kids.
Report Post »Knexman37
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:17amBeing from Delaware County, I can tell you now this will not go over well. It is a mainly Conservative area with a zero trust in the government. This is a sheer embarrassment to my home county.
Report Post »britlynz
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:54amDeclare an Occupy Delawrew county. You’ll have all the zombies you need.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:01amSo true Brit. They wouldn’t even have to don a costume or act and they actually WOULD have the diseases.
Report Post »phillipwgirard
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:36aminsanity by the minute now. everywhere i look
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:44amIf they trying to drive us crazy… it’s working!
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:50amI am from Ohio and this is so bazaar I am embarrassed for my state. First of all I would not trust Homeland security under this administration. This does not feel right to me. Am I being paranoid and overly cautious? ( Better safe than sorry.) Zombies? Really? Hmmmmm, very strange indeed.
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:30amI sure don’t trust our Homeland security enough to pose for them….would be afraid I would get accidentily shot or maybe I am not actually afraid of it being an accident when I throw Obama in the mix.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:05amI made a post that is not showing. What if the volunteers are exposed to a contagion? And what if other states are also involved?
Report Post »htowneric
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:20amAre they trying to tell us something?
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:59amUhmmm, that we are to stupid to get it unless they turn it into something even a child could understand. Or is it a look into the future for what lies ahead? OOoooooooooooooo, more scare tactics or more proof that they know what is best for us poor ole dumb folks. It is just weird and hard to figur out their angle on this one. I asked my friend about it a few minutes ago and he said if they took 250 people and expose them to a contagion the results would be disasterous. And if this is done in all states …………………………………………………………Over population solved.
Report Post »htowneric
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:18amIve read a story last month about the cdc tracking visitors to theblaze or something, what’s their fascination with Zombies, any way The Walking Dead was pretty good on sunday,kinda slow but anyone agree?
Report Post »ProScrub
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:31amHaven’t seen the latest episode yet but the season opener was pretty great I think.
Report Post »FToth84
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:18amW T F…… is wrong with people these days? I remember this from a video game that I played as a kid.
Does this mean that, those who are not zombies, get to run over the zombies with their cars?
Oh Yeah, and what’s up with all this zombie talk anymore? Is the gov’t working on some experiment that will simultaneously turn mass amounts of the population into zombies over night?? W E I R D….
Report Post »BJC
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:49amI’ve been wondering the same thing. It seems like I hear about zombies every day now. I don’t get it. Only reason I can come up with is that maybe since it was a bunch of zombies that voted for the Community Agitator it’s a new slang for Democrat voters.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:08amOWS is loaded… try there!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 12:17amLOL .. finally something “productive” for them to do … they want “volunteers” .. how much you want to bet they would expect to be paid!
TEA!
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