Disaster drill at Burke Lakefront Airport (KBKL) an opportunity for local actors

CLEVELAND -- Worlds collided Friday when Cleveland’s show biz community combined with the city’s safety forces to perform an exercise at Burke Lakefront Airport for a “mass casualty simulation.”

The cast included American Red Cross staffers, police, fire, EMS, K-9 units and 125 “volunteer victims” who donned theatrical makeup to approximate grisly crash and burn wounds that one might expect to find on people exiting a flaming airplane.

Aspiring actress Joslyn Coats from Oakwood Village was on hand for the 6:30 a.m. call. She found out about event from the Cleveland Film Commission website.

“I did extra work on 'The Avengers,' 'Draft Day' and 'Captain America,' " she said.  “I thought I’d come down and see what this was like.”

Another “volunteer victim” was Esteban Rodriguez of Cleveland.

“I’m a frustrated actor,” Rodriguez said. “I read about this on the community theater bulletin board. This was a great way to have fun with friends and do something to help these people out.”

The scene at the airport could have easily been mistaken for a movie set. The Red Cross tent distributed coffee and doughnuts. In an adjacent tent, makeup artists applied fake blood, fresh scars and other realistic signs of physical trauma.

The star of the show was a fake airplane playing the role of a downed Citation 550.  The machine is the first mobile aircraft fire-training simulator to be approved by the FAA.  It produces flames and smoke, both inside and out the aircraft. It also contains a manual control board that must be shut down and mannequins who must be rescued.  It also plays audio of screaming passengers for an extra shot of realism.

Laurie Turner, an area emergency manager for the Veterans Health Administration, coached the volunteers before they sprawled out on the runway.

“Act your injuries,” she told the walking wounded. "We want this as realistic as possible.”

After the plane exploded in flames and firemen in silver proximity suits doused it with fire hoses, the volunteers were moved to one of four triage tents according to their “injuries.” Then ambulances drove them to area hospitals so emergency departments there could participate in the exercise.

“The idea is for the response to a disaster like this to become second nature,” said airport director Ricky Smith. “This kind of practice helps all the safety forces become more instinctual in a time of crisis.”

Show business really did collide with Cleveland safety forces, when musician and vocalist Chelsea Berry with the band Livingston Taylor wandered onto the tarmac.  They had played at Cain Park the previous night and were taking a private plane back to Boston.

“Is everything all right here?” she asked, visibly concerned. She was relieved to hear it was all a simulation.

“I’m so glad,” she said.  “Cain Park was so amazing last night.”

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