Coordinating chaos: Counter-terror drill nine months in making as crews prepare for worst

The clock had just ticked over 9am when the small, handheld radio of Fire Rescue Victoria commander Arran Dixon emitted a brief crackle followed by an ominous message.

The scene was one of complete devastation. The blast had reduced the building to a pile of rubble and twisted metal, leaving a single toilet seat standing in a sea of shattered concrete. A hand poked through the rubble a few metres away from where a man had become trapped. On the footpath, a woman with a wounded arm wailed in agony as she waited for paramedics.

The Melbourne drill, more than nine months in the making, is the largest counter-terrorism exercise held in Victoria in recent memory.attended the first day of the exercise last Wednesday and spent several hours watching it unfold. Fire Rescue Victory deputy commissioner Eddie Lacko said it was crucial to replicate a real-life scenario as accurately as possible, from injuries down to nosey journalists and neighbours trying to get a sneak peek of the crime scene.

“The resource drain from each one of those agencies, while we maintain the business as usual operations is significant,” Lacko said.

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