A simulated airplane crash on Green Bay’s frigid bay allowed emergency crews Wednesday to test their ability to handle such a catastrophe.
At least 100 firefighters, paramedics and other emergency responders participated in the effort. They tried their hands at navigating the icy bay, rescuing victims and recovering bodies.
Officials said it was not only the first disaster drill on the frozen waterfront, it was also the first time Austin Straubel International Airport staffers participated in a simulated disaster away from the airport.
“We thought it would be an excellent exercise,” airport director Tom Miller said. “Not only does it test the people, it tests the resources.”
Miller and other officials gathered inside the Brown County Emergency Management center, while responders from area police departments and fire departments headed to the crash scene at Red River County Park along the bay north of Dyckesville.
Others huddled inside a De Pere church, where they attempted to console simulated family members of those killed or wounded in the airplane crash.
Participating agencies included the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, state Department of Natural Resources, the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department, Green Bay Fire Department and Sturgeon Bay Fire Department, among others.
Three Green Bay hospitals agreed to accept mock casualties from the crash scene.
Cullen Peltier, emergency management director for Brown County, said participants would reassemble later to assess their management of the catastrophe and identify areas for improvement. A report on the mock disaster should be ready by April.
“What we want to see is how we’re all going to work together,” Peltier said. “That’s really the main thing.”
Federal law requires Austin Straubel to conduct a major preparedness exercise every three years. When the Coast Guard separately expressed an interest in doing a disaster drill on the bay, coordinated plans began to come together.
From six to eight months of planning emerged a mock catastrophe orchestrated in vivid detail: an airplane headed to Austin Straubel instead slammed into the frozen bay and broke into pieces, killing several people and sending 21 others to the hospital.
“This is a very real simulation,” said Rear Adm. Michael Parks, district commander for the Coast Guard. “The response has been excellent by everybody involved.”
There was no actual airplane involved, but people posing as wounded passengers were treated and loaded onto a bus for transport to hospitals. Divers braved the icy waters to simulate rescuing survivors and recovering bodies.
Steve Winton, a volunteer firefighter from Wisconsin Rapids, portrayed a survivor and tried his best to give rescuers a realistic experience. Winton said it was important for those involved in the exercise to learn as much as possible.
“I’m going to hopefully give them good knowledge of treating real people,” he said. “Hopefully, what I put in today will help them in the future.”
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