Emergency response crews take part in a mock disaster as part of training at the Medicine Hat Regional Airport on Wednesday.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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Emergency responders scrambled to respond to a mock plane crash at the Medicine Hat Regional Airport on Wednesday afternoon, practising response protocols, mapping out staging and evacuation areas and monitoring interagency co-ordination as if a small plane had actually crash.
It was part of an advertised emergency management training exercise held near hangars at the city’s facility.
“This is all boots on the ground,” said Merrick Brown, the city’s director of emergency management. “This wasn’t an injury situation, but (we supposed) a single-engine aircraft had five people on board. It was all tactical based.”
Fire engines, ambulances, police cruisers and airport maintenance equipment set up near the hangars to the south of the main terminal. There was no service disruption to the public.
The exercises are conducted to refresh operational plans and trouble shoot potential problems. The city is required by federal authorities that regulate the airport to stage emergency response scenarios every four years.
