VIDEO/PHOTOS: Local, state, and federal agencies trained at Bishop International Airport in Flint on Monday, May 5 to prepare for a potential tragedy. The public safety team held a full-scale emergency preparedness drill for a potential real-life scenario.
โThe scenario was a plane had crashed, disrupting a rail car, releasing hydrous ammonia. The scenario went really well. Within the exercise, youโre going to find your shortcomings. The beautiful thing about an exercise like this is it allows us to have an after-action review, and in a couple weeks, weโll all sit down and identify what we did right and what we did wrong, and weโll be able to improve our services to the community,โ said Chris Metropoulos, Genesee County Emergency Manager.
Firefighters with Flintโs Bishop International Airport said this type of training is crucial and different from traditional firefighting training. โIf youโre a structural firefighter, you get repetitions all the time because thereโs constantly calls, wire down, you know, house is on fire, vice versa. We donโt have, thankfully we donโt have the opportunity that a plane crashes every day,โ said Tyler Kolanowski with the Bishop International Fire Authority. Bishop International Airport is required to hold a full-scale exercise every three years.
