Drill hones emergency units' skills

By Chris Foreman
Tribune-Review

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Beneath a blanket of flames along the aircraft, screams emanated from the fuselage.

If this had been an actual emergency, the hurried arrival of fire engines and water trucks could have made the difference between life and death for the passengers aboard the plane from Michigan.

But the fire Friday afternoon at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe was just a drill, organized to give firefighters experience knocking down a propane-fueled blaze on the tarmac.

The simulation, part of a two-day $30,000 disaster drill dubbed "Operation Terminal Stinger," involved scenarios related to a terrorist attack on an aircraft. Other scenarios have been organized for the Attorney General's Office, a Pittsburgh SWAT team and the state police Special Emergency Response Team.

Exercises conclude today with a staged investigation of a hand-fired missile shooting down a small airplane.

Air travel will not be affected and the airport's restaurant remains open.

The airport's participation will satisfy a Federal Aviation Administration requirement to conduct a drill every three years.

A rescue crew from the airport was among the fire companies assisting with extinguishing the flames while a recording featured simulated passenger cries. Officials from Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Mich., provided the aircraft.

"It's pretty necessary because if you don't practice this, you don't know what you're walking into," said Dwayne Pickels, administrative assistant for the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. "I know it's simulated, but if jet fuel caught fire, it would be a lot like that."

The hot temperatures yesterday added to the potential complexities of the exercise, as the heat on the tarmac was estimated at more than 120 degrees.

The flames added another 1,200 to 1,500 degrees, and emergency medical service crews were on standby to ensure the first responders were hydrated and safe.

The exercise is the seventh sponsored by the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety and Region 13 Joint Terrorism Task Force since June 2001.

Overall, the drill will provide training for 23 local police, fire and emergency medical service agencies.

Dan Stevens, public information officer for the county's Department of Public Safety, said the county strives to provide its emergency responders with the most up-to-date and realistic training.

Drills like these help agencies work together, he said.

"Because, God forbid, we have a real disaster, it's not the first time you've seen these people," Stevens said. "The last thing you want to do is exchange business cards in the middle on an emergency."

Copyright 2008 Tribune Review Publishing Company