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Long Beach Airport’s Emergency Response Drill
By frhayes | April 22, 2009
The Long Beach Airport, along with the Long Beach Fire and Police Departments, will conduct a full-scale emergency response drill. The scenario is a 6.4 magnitude earthquake centered 2 miles north of the Airport on a Friday night at 5 p.m.
“This exercise allows us to test and evaluate our internal responses during a regional disaster,” stated Long Beach Airport Director, Mario Rodriguez. “It also provides our staff, first responders and tenants an opportunity to experience a unified command structure during an airport emergency setting.”
WHAT:
Long Beach Airport Full-Scale Emergency Response Drill; Mass Casualty Incident, Joint Information Center and Family Assistance Center
WHEN:
Friday, April 24, 2009, 10:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. (2200 – 0000 hours); Media check-in opens at 9:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Long Beach Airport, 4100 Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, CA 90808, with access to the commercial air carrier ramp before and during exercise
PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:
9:30 p.m. – Media check-in and escort onto commercial air carrier ramp for filming and
photography close-up opportunities
9:45 p.m. – Officials available for interviews
10:00 p.m. – First Responders and more than 100 volunteers from Long Beach and Southern
California region simulate mass casualty incident, including multiple plane evacuations, mutual aide from surrounding fire departments, etc.
Contact: Sharon Diggs-Jackson, Airport Public Information Officer, office (562) 570-2678,
cell (562) 244-9324, sharon.diggs-jackson@longbeach.gov more
BACKGROUND:
The goal is to provide a realistic and safe training exercise for first responders and Airport personnel. This meets Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements to maintain the Airport’s operation certificate and demonstrate competence with federal aviation regulations. The last Airport triennial drill was conducted on April 22, 2006.
The activities include a mock natural disaster site, mass casualty incident scene and activation of several phases of the Airport’s emergency plan, such as a Joint Information Center (JIC) and Family Assistance Center (FAC). The JIC and FAC will be operated in conjunction with American Red Cross Greater Long Beach Chapter and National Transportation Safety Board, as well as airline CARE teams.
City of Long Beach agencies participating in the drill include Airport Operations, Long Beach Fire, Police, Search and Rescue, and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Outside agency participants include the Los Angeles County Sheriff Air Support, fire departments within Los Angeles and Orange Counties, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Greater Long Beach Chapter of the American Red Cross, St. Mary Medical Center Disaster Resource Center, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, U.S. Airways, various ambulance agencies and other Airport tenants. The Airport also anticipates the involvement of approximately 200 volunteers from across Long Beach and the Southern California region.
More about the Long Beach Airport
The Long Beach Airport (LGB) is California’s oldest municipal owned airport, covers 1,175 acres and is centrally located halfway between the major business and tourism centers of Orange and Los Angeles Counties. The Airport serves nearly three million commercial airline passengers annually, offering 15 non-stop destinations throughout the United States, with easy domestic and international connections. Among the busiest general aviation airports in the world, the Airport has more than 310,000 annual operations. As a center for air cargo carriers, almost 42,000 tons of cargo are transported via the Airport annually. It is one of the few airports in the nation that continues to support aircraft manufacturing plants and completion centers. For more information please visit www.lgb.org.
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