Volunteers needed for SWRA triennial disaster drill

Wyo4news Staff, [email protected] [PRESS RELEASE]

ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING ─ The Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport along with several local, state, and federal partners, will conduct a triennial full-scale emergency response exercise on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.

This full-scale demonstration requires a simulated emergency, as it would in an actual aircraft disaster, to ensure all personnel having duties and responsibilities are familiar with assignments and are properly trained. During the morning hours, residents may see additional emergency vehicles in the vicinity of the airport and hospital. These aspects add to the realism of the exercise; in turn, providing a better training experience for our responders and agencies.

The full-scale exercise is the most comprehensive test and is intended to evaluate the operational capability of the emergency management system in a stress environment with actual mobilization and deployment to demonstrate coordination and response capability. It uses all resources and requires reaction from equipment and personnel that would normally be available if the exercise were an actual emergency. The Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration require a full-scale demonstration of the emergency plan every three years.

The success of this drill is directly tied to the number of volunteers that are available to serve as victims, onlookers, media, and friends/family. Those interested in signing up to serve as volunteers can do so until 5 p.m. TODAY, April 28, 2022 by clicking HERE.

Those who volunteer should be prepared to arrive at the airport by 7:00 a.m. so that they can be processed in time for the 9:00 a.m. drill start.

The drill will be led by Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport in coordination with Sweetwater County Emergency Management, City of Rock Springs Fire and Police Departments, Sweetwater Medics, Sweetwater Combined Communications, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Aspen Mountain Medical Center, Sweetwater County Coroner, and the University of Utah AirMed. SkyWest Airlines, American Red Cross, Sweetwater County Board of Health and numerous other agencies will also be participants.

This exercise is not open for the public to watch and asks that members of the public avoid the area during the drill. The airport will remain open for all operations during the exercise.