Chaos reigned in Midtown Thursday as emergency personnel rushed into an office strewn with desks, cables, computers, insulation and filled with smoke after a suicide bomber attack took out six city blocks.

Paramedics quickly assessed the situation and worked to stabilize and remove the injured — many moaning and bleeding.

As realistic as the scene was, it was actually just the first of six scheduled training sessions being held by the Medical Education and Research Institute at Cleveland and Monroe.

“The training is impressive and invaluable,” said Gary Ludwig, deputy fire chief for the Memphis Fire Department. “On the job is not the time to train, and this is about as close to the reality of a bomb blast as you can get.” … (read more)