Morristown Airport Crash?

On Saturday, November 3, firefighters and EMT's from municipalities around the Morristown Airport participated in a drill simulating a crash at the aiport. The emergency responders were from towns including Morristown, Morris Township, Florham Park, Madison, Whippany, Cedar Knolls, East Hanover and others.

Because Basking Ridge is so far from that airport, our Company would typically not respond to an event there, and we therefore did not participate directly in the drill. We were, however, invited to send EMT's and an ambulance to participate in the role of safety advisors.

While the responders in the drill were wrapped up in the exercise, our job was to keep an eye on all participants to ensure their safety. This was no small issue with dozens of vehicles and hundreds of people dashing around a closed airport shortly after sunset!

The disaster scenario involved two aircraft: The large "aircraft" in photo 1 is a simulator owned and operated by the state of West Virginia. That photo shows the engine fire that was present at the start of the exercise. The right of the photo shows the control booth in which experts controlled all aspects of the live burn. About 20 volunteers from the community were present near that aircraft, made up with a variety of mock injuries ranging from cuts to severely broken legs. The second aircraft was a small plane about a hundred yards away, with four made-up victims on board.

Shortly after the mock "crash", the first Morristown Airport engine rolled to the crash site and started extinguishing the blaze. In addition to the fire on the aircraft, leaking fuel had formed a huge pool in front of the aircraft, and caught on fire shortly before the engine arrived. Photo 2 shows the engine putting the wet stuff on the red stuff.

As additional fire engines and ambulances arrived on the scene, firefighters were able to approach the aircraft to battle the blaze and rescue victims. Photo 3 shows them approaching the aircraft, only to have the pool of fuel behind them unexpectedly burst into flame.

The exercise lasted for over an hour, and the participants (and observers) learned many valuable lessons. No firefighters or EMT's were injured in the drill, so the Basking Ridge team felt like they had done their job. To see how our fire company conducts similar drills in township, click here.

The Basking Ridge Fire Company needs more fire fighters and EMT's. The Company will pay for all formal schools, and provide additional training such as these drills. For more information on helping out, see Joining the Company. And if you don’t have time to join the Company, you can still contribute through donations such as old cars or your financial support at Donate Here.