According to the article, a disaster scenario was set up in which an airplane went off the runway and a gasoline leak resulted in a fire.According to Mr. Olatokunbo Arewa, the Regional General Manager, South-West/Airport Manager, MMA, it is mandatory to demonstrate that the airport is prepared to handle emergencies every two years.
Through today’s exercise, the authority will be able to identify areas that require improvement and access the gaps.
“Emergencies are not something we pray for, but we should be ready for them whenever they happen at the airport.
This type of workout is something we should perform at least once every two years, and we just completed it today. You have witnessed our readiness.
“Our response team arrived at the scene promptly to fulfill their responsibility to rescue all passengers and prevent the bombing of the equipment on the ground as much as possible,” he stated.
Speaking about the simulator’s scenario, Arewa stated that a Boeing 737 carrying 80 passengers and five crew members skidded to the compass wing after landing on Runway 18L, 39 right of the runway, and experienced a fuel leak.
“We observed that some of the agency heads at the emergency operation center failed to arrive on time.
In order to respond on time, we command and guide the exercise in that decision-making chamber.
Some of them arrived late, while others didn’t reply at all. We’re going to deal with that.
In particular, an agency that was scheduled to visit the scene, check it, and take notes in order to look into what really happened failed to show up on time.Thus, all of these have been documented. In order to prevent this from happening in the event of a true emergency, we will address this during our debriefing,” he stated.
“Three fire tenders were on the ground and responded within the stipulated time, and the firefighters were all well-kitted to put out the fire,” Arewa said, despite the fact that some officials did not respond promptly.
Regarding cooperation, he stated that among other agencies, frontline responders from LASEMA, NEMA, Lagos State Fire Rescue Service, NSCDC, AVSEC, NCAA, and NSIB were present.
According to the airport manager, the situation when family members attempt to force their way inside the terminal is not inappropriate.
“The airport security staff successfully prevented them from entering,” he added, adding that the same drill would soon be repeated at another airport in the South-West.
The Head of Department, Medical Team, MMA, Dr. Okechukwu Ofeogbu, also spoke, stating that their responders triage patients to determine which cases are critical and which are not.”In emergency situations, we use a process known as victim triage, where we use labels to identify seriously ill victims—red for those who require immediate attention, and green for those who do not.
Additionally, there is the yellow, which requires prompt attention, and the black, which represents those who have passed on.
Read Also: 2027 Elections: Adamawa APC Strategizes Comeback, Meets Ganduje
“Therefore, we have advanced cardiovascular life support programs and basic life support training for all members of the medical team.”
According to Ofeogbu, there would be a medical command officer and an on-site command officer at the incident who would receive instructions from the Emergency Operations Center.
In reference to the Resuscitation Center’s capability, he stated that it could be expanded and that the organization collaborated with other medical facilities to handle crises.
During the exercise, 25 personnel were sent to the accident area, he noted.
Additionally, Mrs. Dolapo Fakunle, Deputy General Manager/Station Commander, Aerodromes Rescue and Purification Services, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, stated that her men’s response was excellent.
Less than two minutes later, she added, the firemen arrived on the site, and within three more minutes, the fire was confined and rescue operations got underway.
“We are more than prepared with the current fleet of firefighting vehicles on the ground. “We have good and serviceable fire vehicles on the ground,” she declared, with confidence.
According to NAN, Air Peace participated in the exercise as a partner.
When the MMA Aerodrome Rescue received an emergency alarm at around 10.55 a.m., two fire tenders and two ambulances arrived on the site; however, additional ambulances were called at approximately 11.03 a.m.
More help was required at the scene at 11:08 a.m. The NSCDC ambulance joined the rescue crew at 11.10 a.m., and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services showed up at 11.17 a.m. (Nan)
