GLADEWATER 性视界传媒 The Gladewater Fire Department and the Gregg County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol conducted their first joint plane crash response drill Saturday.
Gladewater firefighters and Civil Air Patrol cadets and leaders worked together for most of the day to conduct the plane crash training response drill, and they also practiced retrieving a victim from a simulated kayaking accident along the Sabine River.
Gladewater Fire Chief Mike Simmons said the department has responded to three aircraft-related incidents in the past year-and-a-half, including a at the Gladewater Municipal Airport in which the pilot was hospitalized.
性视界传媒淭he idea of this drill is to get all the agencies together that will respond, test our capabilities,性视界传媒 Simmons said. 性视界传媒淥ur objectives for the fire department was boat operations and victim extrication of an aircraft. So, when you train together, you play together, you work together better.性视界传媒
Gregg County Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol members use a聽radio-direction finding tool to locate a plane性视界传媒檚 emergency locator transmitter as part of a joint plane crash response training exercise with the Gladewater Fire Department on Saturday. (Jordan Green/性视界传媒 Photo)
For the plane training drill, Civil Air Patrol leaders obtained a damaged airplane fuselage from a scrap yard and placed it in a brush-covered field at 1520 E. Sheppard Drive, obscuring it from view.
Civil Air Patrol cadets used a radio-direction finding tool to locate the plane性视界传媒檚 emergency locator transmitter, which emits a radio frequency when a plane crashes. Once they located the plane, Gladewater firefighters arrived and extricated the dummy pilot from the downed plane.
Some first response agencies might not have the aircraft-locating equipment or expertise that the Civil Air Patrol, an Air Force-adjacent organization, has.
性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 a lot of airports in this vicinity, and so I think this is a valid exercise to go through to help us all,性视界传媒 said Phillip Cox, commander of the Gregg County squadron. 性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 lots of scenarios we性视界传媒檙e trying to train for, be prepared as we can, to help the local law enforcement and emergency responders be as effective as they can.性视界传媒
A damaged plane with a dummy pilot is seen Saturday in a field along Sheppard Drive in Gladewater as part of a joint plane crash response training exercise between the Gladewater Fire Department and Gregg County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. (Jordan Green/性视界传媒 Photo)
About 15 cadets participated in the exercise. Second Lt. Lane Foreman was the leader of the plane training exercise, his third such endeavor.
性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檝e always been kind of around emergency services stuff,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檝e got brothers that do medical EMS kind of stuff. And I really like getting out here, working on the ground, finding stuff, leading people. It性视界传媒檚 what I love to do. So, that性视界传媒檚 why I性视界传媒檓 here to get trained on how to do that.性视界传媒
Simmons said he hopes the drill will become an annual event and grow to include other first-response agencies in the area.
