San Francisco International Airport (SFO) recently tested their ability to respond to a plane crash in the Bay through a full-scale emergency exercise. As reported by the San Francisco International Airport, more than 42 agencies, including the San Francisco Fire Department and the San Francisco Police Department, joined to finely tune their coordinated responses to an aviation water accident scenario. Federal law mandates these drills every three years, but SFO goes above and beyond by conducting them annually, ensuring heightened readiness.
The airport opts to test their processes routinely through these rigorous exercises. "What we’re simulating today is an aircraft accident in San Francisco Bay," SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel explained in an interview with NBC Bay Area. The scenario featured a ferry loaded with over 200 volunteers, done up with make-up, to simulate injured passengers and test the rescue operations under realistic conditions. The aim was not just to follow procedure, but to actively seek to find possible shortcomings in their system that could be improved upon.
Getting more hands-on, high school students participated as victims in this year's drill. Hailey Hurlbut, identified as a man in his late thirties with a broken wrist, was among the group from Vacaville High School that played a crucial part in the exercise. As covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, the students were "rescued" from the ferry and treated for their mock injuries on-site.
Reflecting on the experience, longtime volunteer James Wong, whose face was painted to simulate water inhalation, said the objective was to "startle" the first responders. Gene Lee, another participant, was seen convincingly portraying unconsciousness, prompting a change in his injury classification by medics. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told the San Francisco Chronicle that these exercises are a substantial undertaking, dubbed "the Super Bowl for emergency planning."
