Mock drill at Stony Rapids Airport gets great first response

The drill began at 12:20 p.m. All responders were on the scene by 12:45 p.m.

Within 40 minutes responders had secured the scene, put out the (imaginary) flames, and transported the victims to the hospital.

[View the story “Transwest Air mock drill ” on Storify]

Transwest officials such as Chief Operating Officer (COO) Garrett Lawless and Director of Flight Operations Heather McGonigal watched from the sidelines.

“We are extremely confident and feel at ease that…our customers are in the best hands,” McGonigal said in the debrief, following the drill. “The way all of the external services worked together was exceptional and we couldn’t be more proud to be part of this community.”

Small mistakes were made during the drill, but McGonigal assured they were expected since this was the first time many of the emergency responders had dealt with this situation.

The Department of Highways was first to the tarmac and had control of the scene, but other first responders did not check in with them.

This led to confusion about the helicopter being on fire and, “A lack of transfer of communication,” according to McGonigal, which saw RCMP officers acting as if the helicopter was not on fire.

As well, due to confusion about the two conscious victims, an inadequate amount of triage was done for them as responders focused on the unconscious pilot.

Several responders also ran on the tarmac, which is prohibited.

Lawless said he was still pleased with how the drill went.

“The advantage of actually doing a crash exercise is that it creates a very meaningful, perhaps even powerful physical memory of what to do in a situation like this…we will be much better prepared to respond should this ever happen for real,” said Lawless.

If a situation were to happen, they admitted it would most likely not happen on a secure part of the runway with responders waiting by their phones, expecting a call.

This drill was deliberately a, “Smaller bite to chew,” according to McGonigal.

“Next year we want to make something more realistic,” he said.

Stony Rapids had specifically been chosen given its isolated location.

Regional MP Rob Clarke was also in attendance. As MP for the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchhill River district, which is one of the largest in Canada, he’s distinctly aware of how secluded it can be.

“You’ve got a remote hospital, remote first responders, and you don’t have the luxuries the larger city centers have,” said Clarke. “But this gives those individuals here in the north an opportunity to implement and practice what they’ve been taught in remote areas where resources are limited.”

Director of Maintenance Howie Murray had been on the hunt for a helicopter fuselage to ship up to Stony Rapids and be dropped in the forest, but planning fell through.

He is still on the hunt, and hopes to simulate an actual crash for their next drill.

ssterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit

by Spencer Sterritt

Mock drill at Stony Rapids Airport gets great first response

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