CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — Fire protection districts across the St. Louis region came together Friday to practice search and rescue operations in the wake of an earthquake.

What You Need To Know

  • But they didn’t just practice anywhere. The now-vacant Chesterfield Mall was the site for the disaster simulation. Training in a building that size is a rare opportunity

  • Crews were able to work on and develop a variety of skills, including logistics, rope work, breaking and breaching, medical and patient care, hazardous materials component, and more

  • The training comes as Missouri's Task Force 1, a statewide search and rescue unit made up of members from local fire departments, deployed to Louisiana this week to assist with response to Hurricane Francine

  • The mall's demolition is scheduled to begin Oct. 15. A 117-acre, $2 billion redevelopment project, including a park, grocery, retail, townhomes and office space will go in its place

But they didn’t just practice anywhere. The now-vacant Chesterfield Mall was the site for the disaster simulation. Training in a building that size is a rare opportunity.

“This is a very unique and great opportunity that was afforded to us. The developer that bought this was nice enough to open this facility up to us to have this type of training,” said Matt Wilcox, assistant fire chief for the city of Maplewood.

While crews have previously done drills in houses and apartment buildings, Wilcox said Friday’s training was the first time they practiced in a mall of that size.

“This is probably a once in a career type training. Where else would we get a three-story building to just destroy,” he said.

All regional teams were invited to participate in the drill, including St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin and St. Charles counties and the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), which will take place the next two weeks.

The USAR team is a specialized task force that deploys to a disaster area to help in structural collapse rescue.

Crews were able to work on and develop a variety of skills, including logistics, rope work, breaking and breaching, medical and patient care, hazardous materials component, and more.

“It’s a total team effort from command staff all the way down to the lowest runner,” Wilcox said. “We’ve never been able to have a drill this big with all five of the metropolitan teams together.”

“We have not worked together as a cohesive unit in a couple of years, so this was a great team building operation for the entire USAR system of the metropolitan area."

Once on scene, crews were briefed on the situation and given their objectives. The scenario detailed that a wall had collapsed, and they needed to search and rescue those who were trapped inside.

Crews started on top of the Chesterfield Mall to breach the roof and floors below until they reached the basement where the victims were.

They used rope systems to lower and haul rescue personnel, equipment and victims through limited accessibility.

Crews had to maneuver through and stabilize debris to access a downed victim. They also assessed the stabilization of compromised structures.

St. Charles County medical specialists and St. Louis Strike Team 3 provided patient care with ALS Air bringing the victims out to safety. Some of the victims were brought down from the roof and others were carried out through a hole in the wall on the side of the building.

The simulation had similarities to when an EF-3 tornado hit an Amazon delivery warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., in December 2021. The building had collapsed into itself, killing six employees. St. Louis Strike Team 3 had searched through rubble, smashed delivery trucks and more for survivors, Wilcox said.

The earthquake simulation at the Chesterfield Mall was a year in the making.

The training comes as Missouri's Task Force 1, a statewide search and rescue unit made up of members from local fire departments, deployed to Louisiana this week to assist with response to Hurricane Francine.

The unit, which has responded to other natural disasters, as well as to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, will return to its base at the Boone County Fire Protection District on Saturday.

As for the mall, demolition is scheduled to begin Oct. 15. A 117-acre, $2 billion redevelopment project, including a park, grocery, retail, townhomes and office space will go in its place.

It will neighbor a $1 billion redevelopment project called Wildhorse Village.