BOISE, Idaho — On Thursday morning, local agencies, including Boise Fire, Boise Police, Ada County Paramedics, and even Valley Regional Transit, among others, worked together to simulate an emergency response to a cargo plane crashing into a passenger jet at the Boise Airport.
The simulation, known as The Boise Airport Triennial Exercise (TriEx), gives first responders a chance to streamline a multi-agency response in real time, using simulated injuries and complex scenarios.
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"It'd probably be one of the most complex incidents that our fire department ever responds to," said Boise Fire Division Chief Mike Walker, talking about a plane crash at the airport. "This is absolutely critical for us to do this exercise. Make sure that when, if something God forbid were to happen like this, that we would be ready for it."
See how agencies across the valley execute a coordinated response to a plane crash at the Boise Airport
Walker says this training included 63 victims with injuries from minor to major, each requiring medical attention.
"The stakes are very high, and our folks know that they have to be ready at that time to perform at the highest level," added Walker.
Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp said if an incident like this were to happen, coordinating a smooth team response would be crucial.
"The main goal is for us to be able to work together with our partners," said Hupp. "We practice this because it's important. It's something that we hope we never ever have to actually implement."
What's even more challenging, Boise Fire is federally mandated to respond to the furthest runway at the Boise Airport in 90 seconds or less. During the training, the aircraft rescue and firefighting teams practiced their response.
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Overall, Chief Walker was happy with the real-world application of the training exercise.
"We did a pretty good job, I think, of setting up a very realistic situation," said Walker. "And if you don't do this exercise or an exercise like this, you're just making it up as you go."
The TriEx training exercise occurs every three years to ensure local first responders are capable of executing a unified response to large-scale emergency incidents.
