A burning van served as the crash site while local high school students took on the role of traumatized victims during a live emergency response exercise at the airport Saturday morning.
Williams Lake Airport manager Shea De La Mare said the simulated crash scenario was planned at the airport with participation from airport staff, members of the Williams Lake Fire Department, RCMP, and the BC Ambulance Service in the event there ever is an emergency.
“It went really well. Everyone felt it was the best exercise we’ve ever had,” De La Mare said following the exercise, noting it’s important for smaller airports like Williams Lake to practice emergency response.
“I think it’s critically important for the agencies because they’re not used to operating on an airfield in this environment.”
Three grade 11 students – Chase Gannon, Alyssa Burns and Sierra Kip – also volunteered their time to participate as mock victims depicting a range of injuries.
In all, three RCMP officers, a compliment of eight firefighters plus the fire chief and six BC Ambulance Service paramedics as well as airport staff took part in the exercise.