- Event: Plane crash emergency scenario
- Date: Thursday, June 25, 1998
- Time: 9 a.m. start
- Place: Wesbrook Mall just south of W. 16th Ave. at UBC
- Parking: On site as directed
NOTE: To maintain the integrity of this exercise, a publication
embargo is requested prior to June 25.
A smoking fuselage and the cries of injured crash “victims” will
mark the beginning of an emergency scenario on the University of
British Columbia campus. The plane crash scenario will put the skills
and protocols of Vancouver emergency services, hospital and university
personnel to the test.
The exercise, in which a commuter plane carrying up to 17 passengers
and crew is supposed to have crashed in the forest on UBC’s south
campus, is aimed at providing an opportunity to test and practise
interagency cooperation in an emergency situation.
“The university, hospital and the various emergency services have
plans to deal with emergency situations,” says Jody Sydor, UBC’s
emergency planning coordinator.
“Scenarios like this provide an important opportunity to test, practise
and improve existing plans.”
The scenario, dubbed Operation Phoenix, involves Vancouver Hospital
and Health Sciences Centre, UBC, B.C. Ambulance Service, RCMP, Vancouver
Fire Dept., Vancouver International Airport Authority, and UBC staff
from the departments of Health, Safety and Environment, Parking
and Transportation and Campus Security, and Public Affairs.
The fuselage of a small plane will be placed in the woods prior
to the scenario start and volunteers enacting a range of injuries
will be placed in the fuselage and surrounding forest. As the scenario
unfolds, crash “victims” will be removed from the wreckage by emergency
personnel, assessed and treated on site prior to being taken by
ambulance to the hospital.
Access to the scenario site will be controlled. Members of the
news media are welcome and should contact the UBC Public Affairs
Office in advance at 604.822.2048 or on site on June 25 at (604)
836-0970.
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