Those driving by the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity next Thursday evening may be startled to see an ’’emergency’’ on old runway 321.
From 6 to 11 p.m., the unused runway will serve as the scene of a series of emergency drills for some 300 emergency responders from local fire departments, police, ambulance services, the Red Cross, hospitals and even the airlines served by the airport.
"The drill is mandated every three years by the Federal Aviation Administration to test the airport’s emergency preparedness and have been done at least the 24 years I’ve worked for the airport," said Moe Haas of Latrobe, public safety director.
To facilitate the drill, the airport is bringing an airplane simulator made of plate steel in from Kellogg Community College of Battle Creek, Mich. The Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting mobile trainer uses safe, controllable and environmentally acceptable propane fuel to provide a variety of realistic airplane fire scenarios. These include engine and interior cabin fires, flammable liquid spills, interior cockpit fires and brake fires.
"All the participating units will be stationed on the runway, and our control tower will initiate each alert," Mr. Haas said. "Fire personnel and emergency rescue workers will then respond. We hope to simulate just about any emergency event that can occur at the airport."
Some volunteers will act as injured victims who will be ’’treated’’ by EMS personnel, and others will act as family members. None of the volunteers are paid but get refreshments and a T-shirt.
The public will be able to watch the drill from the airport parking lot. Mr. Haas said that the drill will not impact air traffic in or out of the airport.
The FAA will send in an inspector from New York to observe and make sure all requirements are met. The airport also is bringing in firefighters from the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. They will evaluate the drill using check sheets.
"The airport has seven members in its fire department and two fire trucks," Mr. Haas said. "Someone is on duty daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with members on call after hours. Each year, our airport firefighters go to Pittsburgh to participate in the FAA mandated annual live fire-fighting training," Mr. Haas said.
Scot Graham of Greensburg, captain of special operations for the Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, said, from an EMS standpoint, his organization will attempt several objectives, including a working interface with the hospitals to provide the proper care and transport of those injured.
"We’ll have some specialty equipment coming in that our personnel don’t normally see," he said. "This includes a MERV, a large, bus-like transport vehicle used to transport a large number of the injured."
The ambulance service also will conduct a triage class for crew members, who then will go out "into the field" during the drill to perform triage on mock victims.
The cost of renting the simulator is about $19,000 for a day and a half of training, and the airport picks up the cost. Benefits of using the trainer include increased skills performance of the emergency response workers by practicing together as a team with the airport’s equipment. It also eliminates travel costs for the teams and provides "live fire" training on site.
"The simulator is used by various airports all across the nation." Mr. Haas said. "Other than a few carbon burn marks from the fuel the simulator remains undamaged after each use."
At the end of the drill, Mr. Haas said the participating agencies will be provided with notes recorded about the event. At the "hot wash" scheduled at the end of the evening, the participating agencies will sit down together and review what has occurred, including the positive and negative elements as well as suggestions for improvements..
"We rely on outside agencies to assist at the airport when emergencies arise," Mr. Haas said. "Fortunately, other than a few small incidents, we haven’t had any major emergencies.’’
Dave Zuchowski, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 22, 2014, 12:57 p.m.
