"Gary, Indiana airport to hold emergency disaster drill Saturday"

Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Gary airport to hold emergency disaster drill Saturday
Official: The only bad drill is a drill you don't prepare for.
BY DEBRA GRUSZECKI
The Munster (IN) Times


GARY -- Countless victims are expected to be carted off the airfield
Saturday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport feigning injuries from a
mock disaster drill.

The drill, designed to test the mettle of first responders to an emergency
of major proportions, is expected to begin at 8 a.m. It also is required
under federal law to enable the Gary airport to keep its operating
certificate.

"The emergency exercise is conducted to enhance the airport's training for
the unforeseen as well as the coordination between mutual aid departments
and surrounding hospitals," said Charles Hines, fire chief at the airport.

All airports operating under the so-called FAR-139 certification are
required to develop an emergency plan.

Because the response will be assessed by a team of observers, the scenario
typically is not divulged until the feigned emergency begins.

In May, Hines was invited to Chicago's Midway Airport to assess the
performance of Illinois counterparts in their full-scale emergency plan
exercise. That exercise involved the coordination and support of 23 suburban
fire department, ambulance and engine companies, numerous police departments
and 10 local hospitals.

As Hines observed a drill mimicking what might happen if a charter airplane
collided with an Illinois National Guard helicopter, and viewed how hundreds
of people simulating injuries were assessed, he said he was collecting ideas
for the session in Gary.

"The only bad drill is a drill you don't prepare for," he said.

Citizens of all ages are expected to be involved in the drill at the Gary
airport, along with the following agencies: Gary Jet Center; firefighters
from the airport, East Chicago, Hammond, Hobart and Lake Ridge departments;
Comed Ambulance Service; Methodist and St. Catherine hospitals; American Red
Cross, Calumet Township; East Chicago EMS; county emergency management and
Sheriff's Department personnel; Boeing security; Transportation Safety
Administration; Indiana State Police; and Civil Air Patrol.


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