SPOKANE -- The Spokane International Airport held a full-scale emergency exercise Saturday morning. It was done to see just how first responders would handle a major incident.
Every three years the F.A.A. requires the airport to stage a full-scale exercise that practices its emergency response plan. First responders had no idea what the scenario would be.
Shaun Mashtare is a six year volunteer with Spokane Fire District 10. All he and other first responders knew was to get to the airport. An explosive device had gone off in an airplane, which was symbolized by a bus. The jet was diverted to Spokane and people were hurt.
Airport Fire Chief, Bruce Millsap, put the exercise together. Millsap says the first part of the exercise was to get the patients out of harms way and treat those who are hurt.
Mashare says the exercise proved valuable learning how to work together with other agencies. In a major event, the airport relies on mutual aid. It comes from assistance from firefighters, emergency medical workers and law enforcement officers outside of the airport.
"It's a good learning curve for the new guys and still learning for the guys that have been out here for a few years," said Mashare.
In the exercise, the Spokane bomb robot was used to check out the explosive device. The scenario was based after an incident last Christmas holiday when a suspect. That was when a suspect tried to detonate explosives sewn into his underwear.
There will be a review of the exercise to evaluate what went well and what can be improved. Also they will look to see whether any modifications need to be made to the response plan.
