Disaster Drill Tests Texas Responders
May 22--First responders from Bryan and College Station rushed to the Easterwood Airport on Wednesday morning at the report of an airplane crash short of the runway, but the event was all part of a training drill.
Emergency personnel from the airport, Texas A&M University and both cities participated in the hour-long mock emergency exercise that simulated the crash of a 38-passenger airplane. More than 10 emergency vehicles and close to 100 fire, police and EMS from Bryan and College Station responded to the scene to treat the victims who were strewn about Brayton Fire Field.
The airport has seen minor incidents in the past, but never a serious crash, according to a university spokesperson. Last February, two single-engine planes made emergency landings at Easterwood after a mid-air collision, though no one was seriously injured.
The simulation served as a practice run for first responders, for those on the ground who have to be ready in the event of a serious crash.
"We had a large number of people gathered and participating to make the event realistic," said Chris Meyer, the assistant vice president for safety and security for Texas A&M. "Agencies throughout the area all responded efficiently and quickly."
Close to 50 cadets from the Texas Engineer Extension Service Fire Training Academy volunteered as the airplane passengers and crew members, and a TEEX bus represented the airplane that had smashed into the ground short of the runway. Ten of the worst victims were scattered around the plane and waited for emergency personnel to respond, holding cards that detailed their injuries.
Laura Fenn, a cadet with the Fire Academy, had a left knee fracture and had flown farthest from the wreckage of the plane. As a Bryan firefighter approached, she clutched her knee and screamed out in pain.
"My heart rate was up, I was breathing rapidly, and I imagine I'd have been highly stressed," she said.
Fenn said the cadets often participate in safety training drills and it was reassuring to see emergency personnel training to respond quickly in a serious crisis.
"We'll all be doing this eventually, so it's good to give back before we're doing the same thing," she said.
The exercise is required by the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure all personnel are well-trained to respond to an airport emergency. The safety drill is required by the FAA every three years, though emergency personnel throughout Bryan and College Station, as well as at the university, complete safety drills frequently, Meyer said.
"We have other exercises planned throughout the summer so we were trying not to overload our responders, but we want to exercise lots of different scenarios throughout our community and throughout the university," he said.
While the drill served as a simulation for emergency responders, Texas A&M and city communications teams were also put to the test. University and city officials stood by and began gathering information as the event unfolded. Sherylon Carroll, the associate vice president for communications at Texas A&M, monitored the information while pretending to field calls from community members and the media.
"There used to be a lag, but by now we would be getting calls from around the country," she said mere minutes after the drill began.
Alan Clarke, a fire academy cadet who showed symptoms of a leg fracture, was also unable to walk and was helped to a medical triage by a College Station firefighter.
The cadet, a native of Canada, said firefighters up north are not trained in medical treatment as extensively, so he was reassured at the medical knowledge shown by Bryan and College Station first responders.
"It's good to know that the firefighters are very knowledgeable, as well as EMS and first responders," he said. "I can tell that they're trained in that aspect, and I'm encouraged to learn the medical aspect of firefighting."
Copyright 2014 - The Eagle, Bryan, Texas
