Chicago’s fire and police departments made the the city’s river their stage Wednesday for a dramatic demonstration of their response skills.
People downtown got an emergency notification sent to their phones warning them of “simulated gunfire and simulated explosions.”
An emergency notification sent to one Loop worker’s iPhone at noon on Wednesday.
Provided
And the departments delivered — the river became a simulated active incident, with police officers running onto a Chicago Water Taxi with guns drawn and actors in distress. A helicopter swooped in, hovering just feet above the water as swimmers jumped out and propelled themselves toward the chaos.
Chicago police officers practice responding to a staged active incident on a Chicago Water Taxi July 27, 2023.
Chicago Fire Department
Firefighters used ropes to ascend from the bridges while crowds of onlookers watched, and a fire boat sprayed tons of water into the river.
The drills were coordinated by CFD, CPD and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications as part of the National Homeland Security Conference, which was held in Chicago July 24-27.
In addition to the iPhone alert, a police spokesperson said there were officers on site letting passersby know what was going on to try to avoid any confusion.