Ithaca Airport Disaster Drill
On October 14th, the Ithaca Airport hosted their tri-annual airport disaster drill, bringing together emergency services from all over the area to train for what to do during the off-chance of a mass casualty incident at the airport. This testing is required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) every three years in order to certify Ithaca to fly commercial flights in and out of ITH.
There was a multitude of emergency departments who came out to train at the airport, including the New York State Police, New York State Office of Emergency, Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response, Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Tompkins County 911 Dispatch, American Airlines, Dryden Ambulance, Bangs Ambulance, as well as the Airport, Lansing, Ithaca, Cayuga Heights, Dryden, and Varna Fire Departments. Along with these participants, the Lansing Central School District and TCAT donated buses for practice.
Vehicles were donated to use as practice during the drill
Volunteers were rescued and moved to the side
A young volunteer has fun with his special effects make-up
Firefighters helped volunteers off a bus as part of the drill
Josh Nalley, Fire Chief and Deputy Director of Operations at ITH said, “We started preparing in 2015 with a series of table-tops, running through the drill in a classroom setting, and updating plans where things need to be worked on.”
“The drill went well and all the requirements were met,” Nalley said. “I’m proud that we brought all of these agencies together, working on building a stronger relationship with the community and departments in the area.”
Since the drill is tri-annual, the next will be held in 2020.
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