By Christopher de Los Santos
Waco Tribune-Herald
WACO, Texas — As the sun came up Wednesday over Waco Regional Airport about 60 volunteers gathered in one of Texas Aero’s hangars for makeup artists to apply false injuries including protruding compound fractures. Volunteers began to resemble extras from “The Walking Dead” or Michael Jackson’s 1983 “Thriller” music video.
By 8:30 a.m. the volunteers boarded buses to ride out to the closer of two runways. There, a few minutes before 9 a.m., first responders taking part in the exercise went into action as if a Boeing 737 airliner had just crashed and burst into flames, cracking open and spilling fire all over the tarmac.
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A few minutes later two bright yellow firefighting vehicles of the Waco Airport Fire and Aircraft Rescue Team sped from Waco Fire Station No. 10, less than a mile away from the control tower, into position near the notional casualties. The lead vehicle sprayed a few seconds’ burst of a non-water-based foam designed for fighting aviation fires.
Soon thereafter, a line of firetrucks, ambulances and paramedic vehicles approached, coming from outside the airport. Firefighters, paramedics and medic trainees began to evaluate the simulated injuries on the casualty role players and drag or carry them across dozens of yards of tarmac to triage areas.
Officials conduct a similar mass casualty exercise at the airport every three years, and this year’s added an extra challenge for coordinating additional resources from outside the immediate area.
“This year, we’re part of a regional mass casualty exercise with Austin-Bergstrom Airport and the airport in Killeen doing this right now as well,” Waco assistant airport manager Justin Millican said.
Millican also said the training scenario expanded locally to include hospitals and medical helicopters from Air Methods as well as the Waco Fire Department, Waco Police Department and American Medical Response.
Also on hand were 10 medic trainees from McLennan Community College and 15 AMR paramedics. A multi-patient ambulance bus with four medics drove 90 miles from Cedar Hill southwest of Dallas to take part in the exercise as well.
“Our goal here is to walk through all the steps of our Waco Regional Airport emergency plan and make sure that everything actually works the way we think it should,” Millican said. “We’re very grateful to the volunteers who will roleplay all kinds of injuries. Having these role players and the injury makeup will add to the realism of the exercise for the first responders. It makes it more than just checking boxes.”
Millican also said officials were also testing new patient tracking technology and the interoperability of their radio communications.
In total 51 personnel from seven agencies took part, Waco Fire Assistant Chief Philip Burnett said.
In addition to the two specialized airport firefighting apparatus, the Waco Fire Department sent four engines, an aerial truck and three command vehicles.
The Waco Police Department sent four patrol vehicles and two supervisor vehicles.
” The Waco Police Department played an active role in today’s airport emergency exercise, and we appreciate the opportunity to work with surrounding agencies, practice vital skills, and gain as close to a real-world experience as possible,” spokesperson Cierra Shipley said. “This provides our agency with the knowledge and preparedness needed to make the best decisions and protect our community in the event of a real emergency.”
AMR responded with five ambulances and three supervisor vehicles. The Waco - McLennan County Emergency Management Office responded with its director and two vehicles.
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