Suburban emergency crews put to the test during airport drill

The field next to a DuPage Airport runway was transformed into the scene of a downed plane Saturday morning as part of an emergency exercise complete with fires, debris and bloodied victims.

"We're trying to make it as real as we can," West Chicago Fire Protection District Chief Patrick Tanner said as the site was being prepared at the West Chicago airport.

More than a dozen local and federal agencies participated in a plane crash simulation, which was planned by the DuPage Airport Authority and the West Chicago Fire Protection District.

Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the DuPage Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management were joined by at least nine fire departments. Firefighters and equipment came from as far away as Bartlett, Hanover Park and South Elgin.

Tanner said the goal of the exercise was to put everyone to the test.

"It tests a lot of people's capabilities," Tanner said. "It tests their confidence. And it tests our system to make sure we have what we need to successfully mitigate this kind of situation."

The drill started with radio reports that a twin-engine business-type jet was experiencing problems and had to land. Minutes later, there was another message that the plane had crashed.

As emergency crews arrived, they found multiple controlled fires. One blaze was inside part of a small plane, which served as the cockpit of the downed plane. There was scattered debris and two bodies - represented by mannequins - in the field. Meanwhile, a bus doubling as the jet's fuselage contained eight people portraying injured passengers.

Some firefighters immediately smothered the flames. Others worked to remove and diagnose the "victims," who all had fake blood and mock injuries.

After being treated on the scene, victims were taken away by ambulances to an area representing a hospital emergency room.

The exercise was observed by officials from the FAA, Waukegan National Airport, and the DuPage Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. They will evaluate how it went and provide feedback to the participants.

"There's always things that you can learn from any type of exercise like this," Tanner said. "No matter how perfect you think you are, you're not."

DuPage Airport officials plan to have another disaster drill in three years, even though it's not required.

"This is being done because we think we have a moral and ethical responsibility," said David Bird, the authority's executive director. "If we're going to ask people to use the airport, we want to ensure we have the ability to respond to emergencies."

With more than 80,000 annual flights at the airport, officials have taken steps to be prepared. The fire protection district, for example, has an on-site aircraft rescue and firefighting station at the airport that is staffed 24 hours a day.