14 Wing EX tests emergency efforts
November 27, 14 Wing Greenwood personnel may have noticed fire trucks, Military Police and an On Scene Controller Emergency Response (OSCER) vehicle on Snowy Owl Drive. Not to worry: this was a planned exercise of 14 Wing emergency response partners.
The wing’s Emergency Response Plan is exercised several times throughout the year, allowing units to practice – in a controlled environment – the coordination that would be needed if a real emergency occurred. The most recent scenario was a collision between a car and an armament trailer carrying a weapon, en route to loading an CP140 Aurora aircraft. The response to this was an immediate call to the wing’s air traffic control tower to inform them of the situation and activate the Emergency Response Plan.
Due to the potential of an explosion, an immediate shelter in place was issued, affecting the Air Operations Zone (AOZ) of the base. As part of the notification, Military Police members and 14 Fire Emergency Services firefighters were informed, rapidly responding to help at barricades.
All units performed their duties: MPs quickly set up a cordon at Check Point Charlie and the POL gate to prevent more personnel from moving into the danger area. Firefighters conducted their initial scene assessment and started providing aid to the injured driver. Explosive Disposal Flight members suited up in personal protective equipment and approached the torpedo to verify there was no hazardous material leaking and take care of the explosive hazard.
All the activity and decisions taking place were relayed to the command post, which oversees coordination of any outside resources that may be needed on scene. OSCER deployed to take over as on scene commander from Red Lead (the firefighters’ platoon chief) to allow Red Lead to concentrate on firefighting duties. As the incident progressed, the Torpedo Recovery Team gathered its equipment and arrived on scene after the area was secured, and declared the weapon safe.
Once the TRT successfully repackaged the torpedo and transported it back to the Explosives Storage Area, all that remained was the clean-up of the accident scene and the incident was declared secure.
