Emergency Response Exercise will be conducted April 2 at PBI
MEDIA ALERT -- For Immediate Release
Contact: Stephanie Richards
Director, Airports Marketing
Palm Beach County Dept of Airports
Direct Line: 561-471-7467
srichards@pbia.org
West Palm Beach, FL. Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) will conduct its triennial full-scale emergency response exercise on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
This exercise is held in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations requiring a simulated aircraft incident. The goal of this exercise is to implement and test the Airport's Emergency Plan utilizing responding emergency agencies, PBI tenants and others having responsibilities under the plan. The drill activity will take place on the north side of the airport, east of Runway 14 just before 13th Street on the south side of Belvedere Road in the Department of Airports Maintenance parking lot. Signs have been placed on Belvedere Road to alert drivers that an Airport Drill is planned for April 2.
The drill will be lead by Palm Beach County Department of Airports in coordination with Fire Rescue, Sheriff's Office, Emergency Management, and Public Affairs Department and the following federal agencies: the FAA, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Customs and Border Protection, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The PBI Air Carriers, American Red Cross and G-Star School of the Arts will also be participants.
Credentialed media representatives may begin arriving at 8:15 a.m. and should be on location no later than 8:30 a.m. Access to the exercise area will be provided before and after the drill. All media present by 8:30 a.m. will have the opportunity to be escorted onto the field for footage. The field must be cleared before the drill can begin so late arrivals will not be granted access the field until after the drill has been completed. There will be a media staging area with an elevated platform for coverage during the drill.
Parking for the media has been located as close to the media staging area as possible. Please park in the designated media lot and you will be escorted into the media staging area. Directions from Belvedere Road: turn south on 8th Street and follow the signs to Airport Drill Parking. (See map attached.)
If you plan to attend, please contact Stephanie Richards at srichards@pbia.org, or 561-471-7467. Media will be asked to sign in upon arrival.
G-STAR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS' STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN AIRPORT DISASTER SIMULATION EXERCISE
Students from G-Star School of the Arts will be participating in a joint disaster simulation with Palm Beach Fire Rescue, Palm Beach Sheriff's Department, Homeland Security, Department of Airports, TSA and other local, state and federal agencies on the grounds of Palm Beach International Airport. The drill is conducted as a training exercise for the participating agencies and is conducted as realistically as possible incorporating special effects, trauma makeup, dozens of rescue and law enforcement professionals and over 40 actors to achieve its goal.
Students from G-Star School of the Arts "X-Scream Team" will be supplying their expertise in the field of special effects makeup while other G-Star students take on the parts of the disaster victims. Students from G-Star's Film Department will be on hand to film the event working alongside members of the local media.
DRILL AREA:
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