Anything can happen when there are thousands of spectators attending a large event.  With over 150,000 spectators expected to attend the 2016 MCAS Cherry Point Air Show, planning and preparations began months prior to the event.  In preparation for the Air Show, numerous exercises were conducted.   Air Show staff were guided through several table top exercises, communications exercises and a full scale mass casualty exercise.

After the initial viewing of the webcast, Mr. James Riemer, Director of Operations, MCAS Cherry Point, and Air Show Director, recommended the webcast be shown for the entire Air Show staff and highly recommended that staff join the association in order to participate in future webcasts.  That being said, I joined the IPSA as a Member in order to be part of an organization that unites all public safety groups.

Mass casualty training and exercising are important when planning mass gatherings because emergencies can happen at any time.  In an effort to understand how others have dealt with Air Crash mass casualty events and through the assistance of Ms. Heather Cotter, Executive Director, International Public Safety Association (IPSA), the MCAS Cherry Point Operations staff was able to review the Reno Air Races: Responding to "A Plane in the Stands" webcast. 

Many webcasts have since been viewed; however the Reno Race webinar provided our staff the opportunity to see how other agencies operate and it reinforced how important it is to collaborate with outside agencies.  Our participants saw further evidence that pre-planning for events of this magnitude is important in order to define roles and responsibilities, identify and properly deploy resources, and to discuss contingency plans with our partnering agencies.

Although we have our Pre-Air Show Mishap Plans and an All Hazards Plan that includes Mass Casualty Incidents; the Reno Air Race webcast provided our staff valuable information regarding Emergency Evacuation on a large scale.  Prior to viewing the webcast, Ms. Cotter provided contact information and introduced our staff to Mr. Kevin Romero, Director, Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority and the Reno Race guest presenter.  Mr. Romero was very helpful in providing additional information and planning tools and flow charts.

After reviewing the webcast and discussing the Reno Race Mass Evacuation Plan, our staff met with local police and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to discuss our Emergency Mass Evacuation Plan.   Our Evacuation Plan was reviewed and roles and responsibilities defined.  We discussed egress routes for emergency and non-emergency traffic, the importance of which was clearly stated during the Reno Race webcast.

Fortunately, we were untested by a major mishap during our Air Show.  However, an unanticipated record number of visitors to the Air Show on the second day of the event created a 10-mile gridlock on eastbound Hwy US 70, the only major traffic corridor through the local area.  This resulted in the potential for significant problems in the event of a major mishap. 

In retrospect, we realized that we had not sufficiently discussed mass gathering ingress during our planning meetings.  We are now re-writing our plans to include ingress and egress, as MCAS Cherry Point relies on one of eastern North Carolina’s major east-west highways (US 70).  With our closest Trauma Center located approximately 112 miles to the west, and our closest hospitals 20 miles in either direction (east and west) on US 70, the main artery to and from our base is a four-lane highway that we cannot afford to have closed in either direction.  We believe lessons learned from the Reno Air Race seminar will continue to help us mitigate future traffic challenges for emergencies … or for perfect Air Show days.

Story by Etta Lucas, Installation Emergency Manager, Mission Assurance, MCAS Cherry Point

Although different by design, acts of terrorism, active shooter incidents, and complex, coordinated attacks exist and we need to do everything possible to make sure we are as prepared as we can be to respond quickly and strategically.

Attacks like 9/11, Beslan in 2004, Mumbai in 2008, Sandy Hook in 2012, Boston in 2013, Navy Yard in 2013, Nairobi in 2013, LAX in 2013, and the recent event in Paris in 2015 have no jurisdictional boundaries. These attacks evolve quickly and they often occur with little to no warning. Victims can be anyone, any age or any gender. We know that the M/O will vary. We know that weaponry will vary. We know there is a wide-range of planning tactics from impulsively acting to extensive planning. Given all of these things, how prepared is your city to respond?

• How often are meetings between law enforcement, fire, EMS, and dispatch taking place in your city?
  
• How often are you meeting to update your response plan?
  
• How are you ensuring that everyone read and understood your response plan?
  
• Are you currently running drills that would prepare you for the types of attacks that occurred in other cities?
  
• Who is involved with those drills?
  
• Do the drills include law enforcement, fire, EMS, and dispatch? Are you taking it a step further and engaging private sector security (e.g. hospital, hotels, etc)?
  

In order to be truly prepared, city government, dispatch, law enforcement, fire, and EMS need to begin communicating regularly. Stakeholders from each of these disciplines need to have a seat at the table during planning, and they should also participate in training drills. The International Public Safety Association's new Rescue Task Force (RTF) Committee will be at the forefront of addressing these issues and assisting agencies.

While funding remains scarce and departmental resources are spread thin, starting the necessary conversations with the key stakeholders is not expensive. Taking time to meet and strategize and document about what your town, city, or region would do is critical for the safety of our first responders and our communities.

The International Public Safety Association recognizes there are gaps to bridge and it is our vision is for a stronger, more integrated public safety community capable of an effective joint response to all public safety incidents. We are actively working on bringing together all stakeholders to have these conversations and making sure the conversations continue as planning and tactics evolve.