OPERATION UNITY 2012 BY NEIL DRACHENBERG, AIRPORT SAFETY AND SECURITY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MANAGER C
oordinating and implementing an airport exercise of this
magnitude takes a tremendous amount of effort. When you blend an airport exercise together with a regional- based disaster exercise you get a whole new perspective in bringing together multiple agencies and meeting their individual objectives. In fact, the preparation for the exercise results in organizations learning from each other, which in the end is well worth the overall effort.
So, why did we do it? Well, there are many reasons; first and foremost, holding a live exercise is a regulatory requirement for all Canadian airports to ensure that they are meeting the requirements of their emergency plans and able to deal with incidents effectively. Secondly, the conduct of a live exercise allows all the participating agencies to test and review their response plans to ensure they are current and blend with the plans of their
counterpart agencies - ensuring they are highly prepared to deal with all types of emergencies. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, working together allows agencies to improve their communication channels as it forces connections between the people who deliver emergency response services while developing a better understanding on how other agencies respond in delivering emergency services.
On Thursday, 13 September 2012 a full scale disaster exercise took place in the Central Okanagan. This was the largest exercise of its type to take place in the Central Okanagan, with 40 agencies participating. The exercise centred on a significant aircraft incident that involved a broad segment of the community. Specifics of the incident were kept confidential until the time of the event to ensure realism and to provide a challenge to responders.
The Kelowna International Airport (YLW) and the Kelowna Fire Department on behalf of the Central Okanagan Regional Emergency Program were jointly coordinating this exercise.
YLW and the Central Okanagan Regional Emergency Program jointly funded the exercise. A JEPP (Joint Emergency Preparedness Program) Grant was approved by the Provincial government to cover up to 50% of the cost of the exercise.
The exercise was expanded to include other regional and provincial agencies to allow relationship building and for practical testing of emergency operations and plans. There were 40 agencies that had offered some level of commitment to participate, including federal, provincial, local government and the private sector. In addition, both the University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus and Interior Health each conducted their own full scale exercises in conjunction with Operation Unity.
The overall Exercise Objectives of Operation Unity 2012 were to: the Regional Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
operational plans to meet Transport
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