GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport and Appleton International Airport said its staff will be training and testing emergency responses Wednesday.
Austin Straubel airport staff said their training exercise will take place from about 10 a.m. to noon.
“Mock drills like this one are required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) every 3 years,” said Airport Director Marty Piette, A.A.E. “This year, the drill will look different from what we’ve done in the past because of the pandemic. Typically, this type of drill involves several hundred volunteers and local agencies in a full-scale mock emergency. This year, the number of people participating has been significantly reduced in order to comply with current CDC recommendations related to the pandemic."
Piette explained besides airport personnel, local first responder and heathcare partners will be participating as well. These agencies include Brown County Emergency Management, Brown County Sheriff's Department, Aurora, Bellin Health, HSHS St. Vincent and St. Mary's, as well as other organizations.
“This exercise provides us with an opportunity to test our response protocols and procedures,” added Piette. “While you can never truly plan for every type of emergency or disaster scenario, it is an invaluable learning tool.”
Austin Straubel airport staff's end goal of the exercise is to demonstrate familiarity with current Stand Operating Procedures. Following the exercise, participating agencies said they will compile an evaluation to use with a final review in order to discuss strong points and areas where improvements could be made.
Appleton Airport Public Safety and Outagamie County Emergency Management, coordinators for the exercise, said their training would take place around 7 p.m. at the ATW Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Training Center at FVTC.
“This simulation creates realistic emergency conditions that exercise many aspects of our FAA-approved airport emergency plan: disaster response, mutual aid support, communications, and triage and transport,” said Abe Weber, Appleton Airport director. “We are excited to utilize the brand-new ATW ARFF Training Center to carry out this emergency exercise in a controlled environment.”
Weber said several local agencies will be helping conduct the drill including four area fire departments, law enforcement agencies, ambulance and helicopter services, American Red Cross, and more. Emergency vehicles, along with fire and rescue vehicles, are expected to respond as part of the drill.
“Over 50 volunteer participants representing travelers and families will assist with the emergency drill,” continued Weber.
According to Green Bay and Appleton airports, both emergency exercises will not affect scheduled passenger flights or traffic on area roads. These events are not open to the public.
