Over 100 first responders complete drill at PBG

PLATTSBURGH | An Alert Level 2 "aircraft in distress" landing at Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG) early Saturday morning was only a drill. But it drew fast and focused response from area fire and emergency personnel. The full-scale emergency exercise involved real-life scenarios, complete with fire threat, victim triage and transport to UVM Health Network, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH). Over 120 first responders, including personnel from Clinton County Office of Emergency Services, the Clinton County Health Department, numerous law enforcement agencies, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), took part in the exercise planned by the Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG) Fire Department. The mock incident was an aircraft with uncontained engine failure, explained Airport Fire Department Senior Firefighter Matt Smith, who planned the drill. It involved 24 local "victims," area residents and agency staff, who volunteered for moulage, meaning they were prepped over an hour before the drill with lifelike makeup to simulate injuries, complete with lacerations, bruises, bloodied body parts and broken bones. "The scenario presented 24 souls on board the aircraft with two fatalities. The exercise began with a simulated call from the Burlington airport," said Mark Lafountain, who is public health emergency preparedness coordinator for the Clinton County Health Department. Lafountain has helped develop emergency training drills for over a decade and previously served as an Airport Fire Department firefighter. The May 31 event began when a commuter aircraft made a (simulated) "distress call" to Burlington Airport (BTV) traffic control before 8 a.m. The call was relayed to Clinton County Emergency dispatch and then toned to area fire and ambulance companies. Peru, several Town of Plattsburgh companies, City of Plattsburgh personnel responded along with EMTs from Plattsburgh, Morrisonville and CVPH. A distressed aircraft faces numerous emergency threats, so the scenario remained fluid. Airport fire trucks have radio equipment that can communicate with pilots, explained senior airport firefighter Shawn Perkins. But they don't engage in conversation while the pilot is trying to manage distress flight conditions. In this case, injuries resulted from a difficult landing. Fire companies had to prepare equipment for aircraft fuel leaks and EMTs readied a mass-casualty response. "Victim" actors were each given a card, a script of sorts, that described symptoms they had to portray. None of the information was provided to first response agencies ahead of time. And players acted their parts: Screaming, groaning or crying, lying still or calling for help. Some had instructions to act unconscious. Others jammed themselves under seats of the "aircraft." The exercise used a decommissioned school bus to simulate the plane. Airport Fire used two of their dummies, human-shaped dolls filled with sand, as non-responsive bodies. "Thank you for wandering aimlessly," Lafountain said to the actors as the entire group of over 120 participants convened afterward. That is what sometimes happens when injured people emerge, disoriented and traumatized, from a damaged aircraft, he said. Victims sometimes head toward flashing emergency lights or wander away from them onto the runway, situations that can prove challenging to rescue personnel. EMT response is coordinated by the first agency on scene. Teams from the various squads trained to work together to triage victims for ambulance transport based on severity of injury. Triage is ordered by color bands: Red, yellow and green, with red indicating life-threatening injury; yellow for serious injury; and green for minor conditions that could possibly wait. A black (expectant) tag indicates a fatality. Ambulances at the PBG exercise were loaded with the injured in order and taken to CVPH, where hospital medical staff conducted their own mass casualty drill in concert with the airport event. Injury scripts given to the actors will later be compared to transport sequence. There are several important goals for this type of full-scale training exercise, Perkins said. "Interoperability between agencies is the big one." Emergency drills give first responders an opportunity to practice together. The realistic training is also important for new personnel. "You don't want to be exchanging business cards in an actual event," Lafountain said. Smith, Perkins and Lafountain held a "Hot Wash" debriefing immediately after the event ended. Details will become part of a full exercise report. AFTER ACTION PBG Airport Director Chris Kreig said the final report will incorporate independent observers' notes and individual fire and emergency department summaries. "We will have an After Action meeting to go over what went well and what could be improved upon," he said. Recommendations can be added to the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP). "Our emergency plan is called a Living Document," Kreig explained. "It is updated as regulations change, as personnel changes, or as available equipment changes. "The AEP is considered an all-hazards plan to include preparation for all types of events: weather, fire, aircraft mishap, pandemic, and is reviewed on an annual basis," Kreig said. Full-scale drill exercises are done every 36 months, in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. Airport Fire, town and city fire and ambulance companies routinely train together. "Everyone, every department has a purpose," he said. "It might seem haphazard from the outset, but everyone works together. "You train for something you hope never happens." After Action will convene first response officials in two or three weeks, Perkins said. "We will discuss what did and didn't work, and how response is scalable based on the nature of the event." "This was designed to test the airport emergency plan," Smith explained. It took eight months to organize, including coordination with numerous agency partners. Airport Fire personnel do conduct table-top emergency drills in addition to the full-scale scenarios, Smith said. Training exercises culminated with a barbecue lunch and time for everyone involved to offer observations and comments. At first glance, the drill seemed to earn good marks: all passengers were accounted for, and what might have first resembled "organized chaos" smoothed quickly into efficient response. The only caution advised consistent use of high-viz gear by all agencies. Airport Fire Department officials thanked all of the partners, volunteers and personnel who participated in the emergency exercise.

Signup for our newsletter

Over 100 first responders complete drill at PBG

COMPANY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SUBMISSION FORMS

BEYOND THE NEWS