Okla. First Responders to Run Plane Crash Exercise
Sept. 21—A full-scale emergency response disaster drill will unfold at Bartlesville's municipal airport next week.
Tuesday's drill is sponsored by ConocoPhillips, which manages the Bartlesville Municipal Airport, and several other agencies and organizations will participate.
The drill, which is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will simulate an aircraft crash. The purpose of the exercise is to test the effectiveness of the airport's emergency response plan, and local and state response capabilities, in the event of an incident at the airport.
The exercise is helpful and intended to prepare responders, said Dan Dalton, administrator with Bartlesville Ambulance Service.
"It's a good way to see how people work together and respond—the whole nine yards," Dalton said.
As part of the drill, the airport must coordinate its emergency plan with local law enforcement agencies, rescue and firefighting agencies, medical personnel and hospital organizations, principal airport tenants and all other entities that have responsibility under the plan.
Dalton said there will be about three ambulances present, and providers at the mass casualty incident will analyze the number and severity of patients.
The exercise will require responders to perform actions associated with initial response including—victim rescue, triage, site security and crowd control. Area hospitals also will simulate treating victims of the incident.
"The first stage is going to be triage and sorting out all the patients according to the severity of their injuries. and then we're going to transport about 10 to the hospital," said Dalton.
The airport will remain open during the drill. However, Wiley Post Road and Will Rogers Drive will be closed to traffic. Signs will be posted along State Highway 60 just east and west of Wiley Post Road to inform residents and passersby of the training exercise.
Community members are asked to keep clear of the exercise, as they would in the case of an actual event, to allow emergency personnel to effectively respond.
The drill will involve the Bartlesville Police Department, the Bartlesville Fire Department, Bartlesville Emergency Medical Services, the Dewey Fire Department, the Copan Fire Department, the Osage Hills Fire Department, the Washington County Office of Emergency Management, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the Osage County Sheriff's Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Jane Phillips Medical Center, the American Red Cross, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66.
