This is Only a Drill
The St. Mary’s County Department of Emergency Services & Technology will conduct a full-scale emergency exercise at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport on Saturday, October 5, 2013, from 8 a.m. to approximately noon.
A simulated aircraft accident will be used to evaluate the airport’s emergency response plan and provide hands-on training to airport personnel, Fire and EMS departments, and mutual aid emergency response personnel.
The exercise will take place on the taxiway and will not affect normal airport operations. It will include the following elements to simulate the realism of an actual emergency:
- Aircraft crash at the end of the runway
- A trainer aircraft will be lit on fire, producing visible smoke
- Participation by Local Fire, EMS Department, Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, St. Mary’s County Airport, Naval District of Washington Fire Department (Patuxent River), Advanced Life Support Unit, Civil Air Patrol and MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.
Responding emergency vehicles will be staging on Smoke Hill Lane and respond to the airport.
- Over 20 volunteer actors, camouflaged to simulate injuries sustained from the incident, will be transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital as part of the exercise.
NOTE: Some of the exercise elements may be seen or heard on Saturday morning October 5, from communities surrounding the airport – especially near Rt. 235 and the Wildewood community. Due to site security concerns, the exercise is not open to the public and there will be limited access on Airport Road from Cotton Parkway to the airport.
Please remember, this is only an exercise.
For more information please contact the Department of Emergency Services & Technology at 301-475-4200 ext. 2112.
