Shasta County law enforcement and the city of Redding announced they will conduct a disaster training exercise on Friday, March 27 at Redding Regional Airport. While not open to the public, the training may attract concerns from people who aren’t aware the event is just a training.
Preparation will begin Wednesday and Thursday, March 25 and 26, with emergency personnel and equipment being staged at the airport.
“Even the first responders from the Redding Fire Department, Redding Police Department, and other agencies are not aware of the specifics of the training exercise to ensure the response is as authentic as possible,” said Redding Airports Manager Andrew Solsvig in a community announcement. “Because it’s designed to look like a real emergency, we need the public to be aware that this is just a drill.”
There will be no impacts to airport operations, streets or parking during the emergency training, according to the city, but there will be additional activity at the airport. The simulation will take place on the U.S. Forest Service’s ramp at the far northern portion of the airfield, away from the main terminal, but passengers may notice some activity from the tarmac or the air.
“This training exercise is an opportunity to ensure airport staff, airport contributors, and local first responders are trained for a mass-casualty event like a plane crash at the Redding Regional Airport,” Solsvig said.
The exercise will include city firefighters and police officers and other regional fire agencies. They will train on a mobile aircraft mockup prop that will produce some light to moderate smoke in the area, the announcement said.
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Volunteers will participate in the simulation to replicate real-world emergency conditions, allowing first responders to train on coordinated response efforts, including fire suppression, scene management and medical care.
The exercise, known as a Mass-Casualty Incident training, is required by the Federal Aviation Administration every three years for commercial service airports.
“We hope to never have to put this kind of training to use,” Solsvig said, “but it’s important that everyone involved knows their role in an emergency and that we can identify any response issues in a controlled space rather than during a critical incident.”
This story was created by Jessica Skropanic, jessica.skropanic@redding.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding Regional Airport emergency drill planned
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, USA TODAY NETWORK / Redding Record Searchlight
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