Inter-agency exercise simulates helicopter crash at CFB Shearwater

“A horrific helicopter crash at CFB Shearwater left several dead and dozens injured.”

That’s how the headlines might read if the practice exercise at the 12 Wing Shearwater base actually happened. First responders from several departments trudged through the rain Wednesday to prepare for the possibility.

“What we want to do is test our plans and practice our people,” said Jim MacDougall, the manager of planning, exercises, and training for the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness.

“Everyone expects that we are prepared for an emergency and all you have to do is watch the news to realize that there’s emergencies happening all the time. Emergencies are not a matter of doing the same thing just faster, we have to implement newer procedures.”

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The annual exercise, coordinated by the Department of Health and Wellness, is a chance to test response and coordination for large-scale emergencies. Past exercises have included a mass shooting in Yarmouth, a train derailment in Truro, and a building collapse in Port Hawkesbury.

READ: 12 Wing Shearwater celebrates 100 years

On Wednesday, the exercise revolved around a simulated helicopter crash, where the aircraft lost control and crashed into a field full of people.

“Could you imagine showing up onto a field and you’re the first ambulance in and, as you’ve seen today, it is filled with casualties. There are plans and procedures. There is inter-agency operations that we have to do, coordination with first responders. That’s what we’re here today to do and practice,” said MacDougall.

The “casualties” on Wednesday were played by a rain-soaked group of volunteers from the Nova Scotia Community College, who laid in the rain and were wrapped in tarps with fake wounds, while first responders practiced field triage.

While possible, it is highly unlikely that the simulated circumstances cooked up for the exercise on Wednesday would actually take place. MacDougall says that the circumstances aren’t actually that important, they just provided the framework.

“The nature and scope of the cause of the casualties is not as important as being able to work with first responders and being able to coordinate and provide the most effective care as quickly as possible to as many as possible,” he said.

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Captain Paul Quinn worked as a liaison with the Department of Health and Wellness to help put on the exercise. Quinn says that the experience for military personnel is invaluable.

“It’s fantastic because we often have smaller exercises. We’ll have a bad day with a helicopter where three or four people are injured or worse, but this was on the massive scale. So there was a lot of learning from all our crews here,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's fantastic because we often have smaller exercises. We'll have a bad day with a helicopter where three or four people are injured or worse, but this was on the massive scale. So there was a lot of learning from all our crews here," he said.

Quinn added that communication is one of the most important pieces in a situation like this. After EHS and the fire department arrived on scene and begin initial damage control, a person designated as the On Scene Controller and Responder, or OSCAR, arrived on scene and began to coordinate with all involved parties.

The heads of departments were situated in a command post, where they can coordinate with OSCAR to allocate resources to where they are most useful.

“We basically want our people to take the information to understand the process … to get it to the right people, to dispatch OSCAR to the site and help out where ever they can. So it has to be an orderly process,” said Sargeant Kirby Walsh, who was involved with air traffic control during the exercise.

“I mean this is an exercise but a crash can happen any day, any second, any time. So we have to understand the process, understand what we need to do and get the information to the right people so we can help.”