-rescue services agreement inked
A live fire and mass casualty simulation conducted yesterday to test the capabilities of the Ogle Airport was deemed successful although a number of areas were identified for improvement.

Following the exercise, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the airport management, Ogle Airport Inc, covering the operations of the fire department at Ogle.

The simulation was directed by visiting US fire-fighting instructor and technical rescue consultant Jack McGovern, who has been working with the authorities at Ogle since 2006. The exercise was aimed at testing the capacity of the agencies at Ogle to respond to a plane crash at the airport involving fatalities and injured persons and officials from the GFS, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) oversaw the entire exercise.

A Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, carrying 14 persons including the pilot, was simulated as having crashed on the main runway at Ogle, after encountering mechanical problems while attempting to land. The GFS, stationed at the north western end of the aerodrome, immediately responded to the accident, in which a ball of fire (simulated by a lit heap of wood) was evident at the end of the runway, which was the designated crash scene.

As the firemen responded to the scene with a fire tender usually parked at Ogle, the injured were taken from the craft and placed on a temporary site adjacent to the runway. The rescue team, which included staff from the airlines located at Ogle who were trained in administering first aid, responded with makeshift stretchers. Injured passengers, who were classified according to injuries sustained, were taken to the GuySuCo hangar via triaging. A triage coordinator overlooked operations at the temporary unit, while other officials supervised operations at the crash scene and the rescue coordination centre.

Two other fire tenders, based in the city and on the East Coast of Demerara, responded to the crash while three ambulances from hospitals also arrived at the scene. Of the 14 persons on board the craft, four were declared “dead” and the others were considered “injured” or “seriously injured.”

CDC representative Colonel Francis Abraham, during a “hot wash” critique of the exercise, stated that the triaging service and overall response of each participating unit was good. He noted, however, that there was some amount of disconnect when the crash occurred. While the fire was blazing, he pointed out, the rescue team was already attending to the injured. The sequencing of the events needed to be looked at, he said.

Abraham said too that there was inadequate coordination of the teams involved but he was optimistic that in the event of a real situation a better job would be undertaken. He stated that “more realism should have been done in tagging of the injured,” and he noted that the ambulances arrived with limited staff to attend to the injured.

Abraham suggested that in future exercises personnel from the hospitals should be invited to participate and he also advised the airport management to have a vehicle permanently placed at the airport to respond to accidents on the air side.

GCAA representative Paula McAdam stated that the exercise was “done well,” adding that there is room for improvement. She said that the air traffic team responded well to the events during the exercise and noted that such events could be done as often as possible, to ensure an operational system is in place.

Meanwhile, during the brief signing ceremony for the MOU, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee stated that important inputs were made by the relevant agencies into the crafting of the MOU. He said that facilities such as those at the aerodrome required modern equipment for functions of the various agencies there and he said that the sector is being modernized in collaboration with the laws and regulations set out by the aviation authorities. Among the agreements under the MOU was compliance of the agencies with the aviation regulations regarding aircraft and other emergencies, fires, and related incidents on and in the vicinity of the aerodrome. They also agreed to ensure that crash, rescue and fire fighting services are available on a continual basis.

Ogle Airport Inc, the company made up of operators at the aerodrome, is required to maintain and operate the aerodrome in accordance with the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The GFS is required to provide rescue and fire-fighting services at and in the vicinity of the airport in accordance with ICAO’s regulations.