The runway at Falls International Airport on Thursday was set on fire as 20 “passengers” lay in the grass, covered in fake blood, with mock pieces of an aircraft protruding from their bodies.
“What do you remember before the plane went down?” an International Falls police officer asked a “passenger” who was conscious. “Did you hear anyone making threats?”
As a fire crew worked to put out a massive fire, some entering the mock airplane surrounded by heavy smoke, medical responders arrived at the scene and pronounced some of the “passengers” dead. Actors from the community played the part of 20 passengers who were on board the small regional commercial jet, which “crashed” because of an “act of terrorism.”
The scene set the stage for an airport safety drill the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, requires of the airport every three years.
The exercise included crews from around the community — the airport fire department, the International Falls Fire Department, Delta Airlines crews, International Falls and Koochiching County law enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol, hospital nurses, and ambulance staff.
The police arrived at the scene first, counted the number of passengers, and questioned those who were able to speak. Medical personnel evaluated the injuries and lifted them to a triage area before transporting them by ambulance. A mock hospital at the cold weather testing building took in passengers.
In past safety drills, the actors were taken to the Rainy Lake Medical Center- Hospital Campus to educate hospital staff on how to handle a disaster. The hospital did not participate in the drill this time, but sent a few nurses to the scene for the triage area.
The drill ended at a staging area at the airport’s main terminal, where family members of the “victims” awaited news.
Paramedic Shawna Bolstad played the medical operations supervisor and led the radio communications between medical personnel. She said the drill required a lot of planning to determine responsibilities if a mass casualty situation were to actually happen in the area.
“I think it’s extremely important to practice, learn and to refresh on the roles and responsibilities people can have,” Bolstad said. “We fortunately have never had a situation like this, but there’s so much potential for something like that to happen.”
It prepares emergency responders for similar situations — a mass car accident or a shooting, she said. Any situation with more than a few deaths is considered a “mass casualty” situation.
In the safety drill, five people “died” at the scene. Staff from the local morgue were part of the drill. More than 30 people responded to the emergency.
Thor Einarson, airport manager and owner of Einarson Flying Service at Falls International Airport, said his staff participates in disaster exercises on a regular basis. Fire and ambulance staff also conduct safety exercises for mass casualty scenarios.
“Even though air travel is by far the safest mode of transportation, we still want to be prepared, and we take that preparation very seriously,” Einarson said. “From my perspective, I thought it went very well. It went beyond my expectations.”
Very few mistakes were made, and drills are important because there is always room for improvement, he said.
“There’s always a learning curve,” Einarson added.
Fire Chief Jerry Jensen echoed his satisfaction with the success of the drill.
“Because we’re dealing with so many casualties, you can easily lose control of the situation in the chaos,” Jensen explained. “I was very happy with the outcome and the great cooperation between fire, ambulance and police (staff).”
Jensen added that the communication between personnel was a large part of the success of the drill. Having a unified chain of command was helpful in not having too many people directing others, he said.
He was pleased to see that fire and police personnel assisted in moving passengers to triage and ambulances once their primary responsibilities were completed, he said. Triage stations were set up by color, according to the severity of the injuries.
Einarson added that everyone participating in the drill “deserves a lot of credit” for handling a situation that was “physically and mentally taxing.”
“I was very impressed by the action and dedication from all staff and personnel involved,” he said. “The exercise went as well as it did because of all of those included.”
