ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Officials at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport conducted a weapons of mass destruction drill Wednesday that included a shooting rampage.
Airport Police and Fire Department Deputy Chief of Operations Dan Juarez said the airport is required to conduct a mass casualty response training event every three years to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.
Juarez said that in addition to police, more than 100 volunteers were involved.
“Our police officers will be involved with the airport police and the fire department, customs, the Anchorage police, those are some of the people involved,” Juarez said before the event. “And the Anchorage fire department.”
In the past, exercises on how to deal with numerous injured people have been held at the airport, although the focus was mostly on incidents involving aircraft.
This year, Juarez said, they decided to pursue something that has now become more common.
“Unfortunately, shootings have been occurring all over the country for many years, everywhere from hospitals to airports and near cities,” Suarez said. “So we’re practicing this now to improve our procedures, our tactics and our policies to respond to something like this.”
The media was barred from attending the actual event, but was told that volunteers would act as victims who would be assigned injuries in the exercise. Frances Jones said she volunteered to help law enforcement better prepare for an event that could actually occur.
“The more drills I hear about that are happening in our community, the more I feel like we’re more prepared overall,” Jones said. “And I feel more confident knowing that we’re constantly learning and practicing.”
Katelyn Dawson, who works at the airport, was another volunteer.
“For me at least, it makes us feel safer knowing that our first responders know what they’re doing,” Dawson said. “I have no doubts about their abilities, but this is just a validation of that.”
Juarez said that after the exercise is completed, a report on the response will be published and will outline what actions, if any, could be taken to improve it.
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