Yesterday afternoon, a man claiming to possess a bomb physically climbed the 130 foot-tall Ferris Wheel on Santa Monica Pier only days before a specially organized training exercise designed to evaluate a new pier evacuation procedure is due to take place this Thursday.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) the subject was heard by witnesses claiming that he was in possession of a bomb. Officers evacuated Pacific Park and the Pier and the Crisis Negotiation Team were able to speak to the subject despite the overwhelming noise from the Pier. He was later removed, held in custody and transported to a local hospital for assessment. The Pier eventually reopened to the public and thankfully no explosive or incendiary device was found.
Emergency scenarios, whether they be natural disasters or man made problems, are taken very seriously as removing thousands of people from the city’s most famous landmark is a huge task. The need for preparation has motivated the SMPD, Fire Department and Coast Guard to develop a multi agency training exercise to better prepare for the unlikely event of a disaster-induced rapid pier evacuation.
"In our line of business, we always have to think about the worst case scenario and plan for it and hope for the best," said Doug Woodhams, Sergeant with the SMPD’s Directed Action Response Team.
In this case, the training exercise – which has been planned since before May of this year – will involve a tactical scenario with people trapped on the West end of the Pier, but details are being kept under wraps for now.
According to the official blurb that accompanied the volunteer application form, "No single city agency can fulfill the prevention role alone; there must be a whole-of-community approach that brings together government agencies, community leaders, and service providers.
"We must build trusting relationships and actively share information about potential threats in line with privacy and civil rights protections. We must also partner with the public to build trust, encourage reporting of genuinely threatening activity and support turning those at risk away from violence."
Since it first opened on September 9, 1909, the pier has endured some dangerous situations, mostly from storm damage but local officials are looking for inspiration for this week’s drill from an unexpected source: sunny Brighton in East Sussex, England.
Woodhams says that both the SMPD and the Santa Monica Pier Corporation have worked in collaboration with the Brighton Pier Group Plc. And in fact, a little known truth is that Santa Monica is a sister city to Brighton, or "twinned" as it’s more often called in the UK.
"The two piers were definitely a key factor in that. Two world famous piers in two world famous cities," Anne Ackord, CEO at the Brighton Pier Group Plc told the Daily Press. "We approached Santa Monica maybe eight or nine years ago in an attempt to organize a joint promotion. We had representatives from both sides meet, but then Covid hit and that slowed everything down, of course. Finally, last summer we managed to get things going again," Ackord said.
"We had a ceremony on Brighton Pier, and we unveiled a very large and exciting mural that stayed with us for a couple of months that was done by an artist from Santa Monica," Ackord said, adding, "And the Brighton and Hove mayor met the Santa Monica mayor. It was all very exciting and enjoyable."
Ackord spoke about how Brighton Pier has over five million visitors and obviously safety was of huge importance. "We have the normal threats, vandalism, arson etc, so we have to take lots of precautions just to keep our visitors safe. And yes, we did exchange ideas on how best to do that." Ackord however, was understandably reluctant to talk about the specifics.
Three example scenarios were terrorist attack, fire and a natural catastrophe like an earthquake, tsunami and so on.
"It’s all about the reaction time," Woodhams said. "It’s going to be unpredictable, unforeseen. For whatever reason, if people are isolated at the end of the pier and cannot for any reason make it back to shore, if their escape route is cut off, we have to be able to evacuate them."
A number of different methods were tested at Brighton, including a rope ladder system that could allow evacuees to climb down to waiting rescue craft and according to Woodhams, over 1,000 volunteers helped test the concept. However, in addition to this, a chute system has also been considered for Santa Monica that would permit a more rapid escape.
"It’s been several years since we last had a drill like this at the pier, and it’s really important that we have them. Nobody wants to imagine a tragedy here, but knowing that our first responders are prepared for the worst is ideal for the comfort of our visitors," said Jim Harris, Executive Director at Santa Monica Pier Corporation.
"The 30 businesses on the Santa Monica Pier are excited to support the Santa Monica Police and Fire Departments in their critical incident training. While the pier will be closed to guests for a few hours, we believe that this training is essential to ensuring the safety and security of our pier and its guests," said Nathan Smithson, Marketing and Business Development Director at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier.
