Crews with Barrow County Emergency Services (BCES) took part in a Friday morning training session with the U.S. Army National Guard Unit based in Winder.
The training drill, which began around 8:15 a.m., included a contingent of fire engines, ambulances, ladder trucks and other official vehicles gathered at the end of one runway at the Barrow County Airport.
"Although the response may have looked real, citizens can relax as it was only a training drill,” said BCES Deputy EMA Director Penny Clack in a weekend press statement. “It was an opportunity for the National Guard and BCES to train together on response to one of their aircrafts going down.”
The scenario, according to Clack, was a helicopter that had made a hard landing just off the runway. Communication officers with BCES received the 911 call reporting the drill and dispatched firefighters as if it was a real life scenario. Firefighters responded and met with National Guard soldiers. Plans for action were developed to handle any patients, control any hazards at the scene and provide security.
After the drill, firefighters attended a class with the National Guard on how to remove soldiers from a helicopter if it was an actual scene, as well as how to maintain safety around the helicopter.
“We train regularly with the members stationed here in Winder to ensure we are up to date on any equipment we may come into contact with and how to safely operate around that equipment,” said Clack. “It is a great working relationship we have with them and will help our response if any accidents were to occur.”
