Bone-headed marketing promotions tying in 9/11 are one kind of insensitivity, and then there’s another kind of palm-to-head move by officials who really should know better. Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick is calling the timing of a fire training exercise full of flames and smoke at Boston’s Logan Airport on yesterday’s anniversary of the attacks “just dumb.”

It’s not like Logan is just any airport holding an everyday drill that happens to coincide with 9/11: The two planes that hijackers flew into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City departed from Logan on the morning of September 11, 2001.

As such, there were several memorial events underway at Logan when the training drills were underway yesterday, a move that’s being called pretty darn insensitive, reports the Boston Globe.

“Sept. 11 was so traumatic for so many people, and it is emblazoned on so many people’s mind and conscious,” said Eric Lowrey, president of the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund, who was attending several memorial events as the training exercise was underway. “I could very much see it being an issue and very worrisome for anyone who saw that smoke and fire, knowing this date has some significance.”

“I didn’t know it was going to happen, and it’s just dumb. The timing could not be worse,” Gov. Patrick told reporters yesterday.

Massport apologized three hours after the fire drills, saying it realized it might’ve offended those remembering 9/11.

“Safety and security is our top priority, and constant vigilance and readiness is critical, but the exercise should not have taken place on the anniversary of 9/11,” Massport said.

Timing of Logan fire drill is called insensitive [Boston Globe]

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