Emergency Training Exercise At Campbell River Airport Today

You may notice some action at Campbell River Airport today.

The City is hosting an emergency training exercise at the airport from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The simulated Emergency Operation Centre will be activated, following all protocols that would be in place in a real-life scenario.

The goal of the exercise is to ensure that all responding agencies - from local crews, reps from NAV Canada, BC Ambulance and Health Emergency Management BC - are prepared and coordinated in the event of an emergency.

Emergency response vehicles and personnel will be on-site and may be visible to patrons of the airport and members of the public in the area.

Access to the exercise area will be restricted to authorized personnel only.

The City asks the public to avoid the exercise locations and respect all signage in place. No impact on regular airport operations is anticipated.

Alertable, an emergency notification system, will be used ahead of the exercise to advise the public of the training taking place.

The City encourages the public to register with Alertable and download the App to be alerted to potential natural disasters, severe weather, and other emergency events in the future.

Alerts can be sent directly to telephones, smartphones, tablets, computers, and home smart devices.

Sign up for Alertable at srd.ca/alerts.

Airport Manager Dennis Brodie says “Safety is our number one priority and exercises like this provide the opportunity for multiple local agencies and the airport to test their response plans and gain key learning to respond to an emergency involving an aircraft.”

While the exercise is required as part of the airport’s certification through Transport Canada, Brodie says it's also an extremely valuable tool in emergency preparedness and multi-agency collaboration.