Drilling for Disaster
BY and
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Consider this: During a routine approach near the end of Runway 7 / 25, an aircraft’s landing gear collapses and the plane skids off the runway. As it slides through the dirt area adjacent to the runway, the aircraft begins to break up. The wings are severed, the fuel is spilling, and the forward passenger compartment opens.
Several passengers have been thrown out of the plane. Others are trapped inside, many severely injured. Still others are unhurt and are attempting to exit the aircraft.
Would your department be prepared to handle such a disaster?
Determined to be survivable by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), this incident, a simulated accident at the BurbankGlendale-Pasadena Airport in California, served as the centerpiece of a major disaster preparedness drill. It involved approximately 40 agencies and 200 personnel throughout the County of Los Angeles.
Called Operation BUREX, the drill was designed to test and evaluate the airport’s emergency plan and the emergency response capability of the airport and other supporting agencies. The exercise also was a training vehicle for the numerous non-fire agencies that could be involved in a major aircraft incident.
Agencies involved in this disaster drill included: the Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Department; the Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles Fire Departments; St. Joseph’s Medical Center; the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office; the police departments of the airport, Burbank, Glendale, and Los Angeles; the Red Cross; the California Highway Patrol; the various airlines serving the airport; Airport Operations/ Security; Airport Control Tower; and the NTSB.
BURBANK AIRPORT LAYOUT AND LOCALE
Situated in the eastern section of the San Fernando Valley in southern California, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (Burbank Airport) is owned by the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena. Because the airport is situated in two cities (Burbank and Los Angeles) and it’s in close proximity to other communities, an actual incident could involve the participation of four cities (Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena) as well as the Airport Authority and the Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Department.
Due to the airport’s unique geographic configuration and the number of responding agencies, effective and efficient communication among all the organizations is critical to a successful operation.
The Crash /Fire/Rescue Department is a rather unique aspect of the Burbank Airport. The three cities that own the airport contract with the Lockheed-California Company to perform airport emergency services. This is not a typical situation in which a city fire department is responsible for onairfield incidents.
As with any good training drill, especially one of this magnitude; Operation BUREX required extensive planning. Prior to the actual “event,” all participating agencies spent three months in internal planning (planning their own individual operations and how these efforts will be coordinated into the overall disaster plan) and another three months in meetings and detail finalization.
Volunteers from local schools were recruited as the “walking wounded victims,” and airport trams functioned as ambulances for victim transportation to a local medical center, as they would for an actual emergency.
THE DISASTER DRILL
The actual exercise began at 6 A M when airport traffic is light. This way, there was minimum interruption to airport operations. The volunteers arrived at the Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Station and were made up to simulate their incurring various injuries that medical authorities were expected to diagnose and treat both at the scene and in the hospital setting.
At approximately 8:30 A M., a smoke bomb was set off, starting the event. As the drill began, “victims” and personal property items were strewn across the grass between the runway and taxiway and in the aircraft vicinity.
Within seconds, notification of the incident was reported by both the FAA and the Burbank Airport Control Tower and Operations. Fire was also reported at the crash site and the Crash/Fire/Rescue Department was dispatched.
Upon arrival at the scene, the Airport Fire Department immediately notified the Burbank Fire Department, which in turn notified the Los Angeles Fire Department. This is standard operating procedure at a major aircraft crash. Within minutes, teams from the Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles Fire Departments arrived at the site.
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Photo courtesy ot the Burbank Airport
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The Burbank Fire Department battalion chief operated as the incident commander, using the incident command system; the Glendale battalion chief was the operations chief. The Airport Operations/ Security Department, the California Highway Patrol, the
Burbank Police Department, and the Glendale Fire, Burbank Fire, and Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Departments operated individual command posts in support of the incident commander.
The fire /rescue equipment on hand was extensive. In addition to the airport’s trams:
- The Burbank Fire Department brought two engine companies, one paramedic squad, one truck company, and one battalion chief;
- The Los Angeles Fire Department brought two task forces, two paramedic ambulances, one battalion chief, one air ambulance, and one emergency medical service supervisor;
- The Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Department brought four major pieces of crash equipment, one engine company, and a total of 14 people;
- The Glendale Fire Department brought two engine companies, two truck companies, and one rear mount aerial;
- The Pasadena Fire Department brought two engine companies and one battalion chief.
The fire departments set up a triage site while the victims were analyzed, sorted, and categorized by the paramedics. Victims were tagged according to the extent of their injuries and moved to the triage area. Those victims assessed as the most critical were immediately transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital by either Los Angeles medivac helicopter or airport trams. Other victims were treated by emergency teams at the scene while waiting for transportation to the hospital.
At the same time, the Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue Department was extinguishing the “fire” and searching for additional wounded. Airport Operations/Security was establishing perimeters on the airfield in order to keep the airport operational and preserve the scene for the NTSB. After the completion of the NTSB investigation, the Coroner’s Office had the opportunity to utilize their recovery procedures.
CRITIQUE
Shortly after the drill, a comprehensive critique session was held to evaluate the operation. All agencies discussed their individual participation and performance as well as their opinion of the overall drill.
- The general consensus was that the exercise was a tremendous success. The goals for the drill, which were that each individual agency learn and refine their role within the disaster plan in order to improve overall disaster operations, were not only met, but exceeded. The exercise was wellstaged and well-coordinated and proved that an effective disaster system exists that can handle an emergency on a high professional level in which all participating agencies mesh.
- The drill reinforced the fact that communication and coordination are the keys to successfully mitigating a disaster. Participating agencies were provided with an opportunity to interact with each other—a chance that rarely exists in day-to-day operations—thus allowing each individual agency to realize and understand the roles of the other participants. This afforded everyone a knowledge of why certain procedures are set and certain directions must be followed.
- Through this drill, redundancy was eliminated in some of the overlapping functions of each agency, resulting in a streamlined operation that is more effective, efficient, and economical.
- The drill proved that enough fire and emergency equipment is available within the system to accommodate an actual emergency and that the activation of the emergency hospital radio network (HEAR) can be utilized effectively.
- The coordination and response time of each agency went extremely well, with a minimum of delay.
- The drill also pointed out the necessity for well-trained coordinators, persons who are able to route traffic to and from a particular location in a safe and expeditious manner. Besides some minor communication problems, the drill proved the importance of airline coordination and restrictive crowd control.
As a whole, Operation BUREX was a valuable tool in disaster preparation. There is no telling how many lives such pre-incident training may save in an actual emergency.
