Public safety: Disaster exercise at Naples Airport looks like the real deal

More than a dozen agencies and companies took part in a disaster preparedness exercise at the Naples Airport on Tuesday. The exercise was captured on the video above and in the following photos by Naples Daily News visual journalist Jonah Hinebaugh.

Here are 5 things to know:

1-What is the reason for the disaster prepardedness exercise at Naples Airport?

The exercise, which is required to take place every three years, aims to fully test activation, operational plans, policies and procedures as they pertain to responding to and recovering from an incident on the Naples Airport property.

2-How long was the disaster preparedness exercises at the Naples Airport?

The hour-long program centered around a school bus used to represent a passenger plane that had to make an emergency landing at the airport. The first responders on the scene communicated via radio with other teams around the airport as well as dispatch at Naples Community Hospital and Physicians Regional.

3-How did they replicate a real-life disaster scenario?

In order to replicate a real-life scenario, first responders aren’t given the complete details of what will happen during the exercise until it begins. That means dealing with upset family members arriving on the scene, disoriented patients wandering off and more as they continue triage of the “victims.”

4-Who played the role of the injured?

Students from Lorenzo Walker Technical College’s cosmetology program helped increase the believability of the exercise by using their makeup skills to simulate injuries that the victims would likely experience. The students varied in condition with some being able to walk on their own and others requiring stretchers to be transported.

5-Did you know?

The event is also required for certain FAA certifications. It was originally scheduled to be held in October of 2022, but was pushed back and scaled down slightly due to Hurricane Ian.

What they are saying about the exercise:

“This is good practice for everyone to be able to do this in a controlled environment where they can learn from anything that needs to be corrected, but also have the ability to practice a lot of these skills,” said Zac Burch, communications manager for Naples Airport Authority.

Photo gallery: More photos for the disaster preparedness exercise

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples airport disaster preparedness exercise intended to look real