Steamship to star in disaster drill Greenville event to involve many agencies

GREENVILLE – It has plied the waters of Moosehead Lake for years without serious incident, but trouble is brewing on Sunday for the steamship Katahdin.

That’s when a disaster is set to strike the pleasure craft and its occupants, but no real injuries or damage are expected, since this is a mock drill to see how well state and county officials are prepared to respond to such an event.

“Sink the Kate” is a full-scale exercise for Region 4, which involves the Maine Emergency Management Agency, the EMA agencies in Piscataquis, Waldo, Washington, Hancock and Penobscot counties, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Forest Service, C.A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville and Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville police and Fire departments, the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department, Greenville town officials, the Piscataquis County Amateur Ham Radio Club and Moosehead Museum.

“It’s been going really well, and naturally it’s hectic, but everything is falling in place really well,” Tom Capraro of the Piscataquis County EMA office said Monday. “It should be a really good exercise.” Capraro said the cooperation among the agencies has been fantastic during the four months of planning.

Beth Young, public information officer for the exercise, said few details are being released about the mock disaster other than that there will be multiple mock victims. To date, 25 people have volunteered to participate in the exercise, but about 25 more are needed for the daylong drill. Participants will meet at 7 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, in the Greenville School gymnasium to be briefed about the detail. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to volunteers. Anyone who wants to volunteer for the exercise should call Young at 695-2421.

Capraro said the mock disaster will be conducted under a controlled atmosphere, which means limited access, so he is not encouraging spectators.

After the event, Capraro said, a quick debriefing will be held. It will be followed on Sept. 10 by a formal, in-depth debriefing.

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