…….. The lack of contingency plans for communications issues was but one of several gaps in emergency planning that came to light on July 7, 200S Another such oversight became evident when ambulances and fire engines were not on hand for the victims emerging from the Russell Square station. Emergency plans did not call for responders to be deployed to each end of an Underground link during a disaster. Consequently, all fire and medical personnel responding to the third bombing were initially dis patched only to the King's Cross station. Another planning issue involved the London Underground Emergency Response Unit, which was required to rapidly attend disaster scenes while obeying standard traffic laws, using no flashing emergency lights, and even paying tolls. Finally, emergency plans did not include provisions for utilizing all available medical resources. The plans called for distributing victims evenly to each of the 11 local hospitals with large emergency departments. This specification did not account for the assistance of a number of smaller hospitals located throughout the city. In one instance, a smaller hospital adjacent to Russell Square was not called on for medical assistance. Fortunately, when hospital staff discovered the crisis in close proximity, they responded swiftly by establishing a field hospital for the wounded.