A multiagency Powell River regional response team will be conducting an emergency training exercise to test the Powell River Airport emergency plan this fall.
Planned for Tuesday, September 17, the exercise will start at 10:30 am and is scheduled to last approximately three hours.
A Pacific Coastal Airlines passenger aircraft crash will be simulated. The primary goal of the exercise is to practice the airport emergency response plan.
Airport coordinator Dennis Dilworth said this is a program that has to be undertaken through Transport Canada.
“They require us, every four years, for our size of airport, to undertake a full-scale emergency exercise,” said Dilworth. “What that involves is actually having everyone show up at the airport and do their jobs so we can evaluate what our current emergency response plans are and see if we can improve upon them.”
The planning exercise for the emergency simulation is wrapping up, with a planning session on Friday, August 9.
“We’ll be doing our final tabletop exercise for our September session,” said Dilworth. “Everything is looking good.”
The hope is the exercise will provide a good baseline for the airport and member agencies to refine airport emergency plans. It has been four years since the last major exercise.
There will be smoke used during the test and the exercise will involve emergency services vehicles, including fire rescue apparatus, police and ambulance, and emergency personnel.
The goal of the exercise is to gather key information and find and fix gaps in the emergency plan for Powell River Airport.
BC Ambulance Service, BC Coroners Service, City of Powell River, Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department, Pacific Coastal Airlines, Powell River Airport, Powell River Fire Rescue, Powell River General Hospital and Powell River RCMP will be involved.
The public is asked to avoid the airport area during the emergency simulation due to traffic disruptions.
Although it is a practice exercise, it will be conducted as a full-scale, real-time emergency event. During the exercise, there is no risk to the public.
