Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 24/02) - Nine local emergency response agencies attended to a mock hostage situation of an overseas flight from Asia at the Yellowknife Airport Wednesday.

Approximately 90 personnel from the Department of National Defence, the RCMP, the Airport Authority, Emergency Services and other emergency response agencies participated in the seven-hour exercise dubbed "Guerrilla."

The on-duty participants were called to respond to the emergency landing of a hijacked plane at approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Local SADD members were dressed up as casualties and injured passengers, resulting in the first response of first aid treatment and simulated transport to Stanton Regional Hospital.

The exercise was held to test the skills of specially-trained emergency response teams to ensure they are prepared for any real-life crises which could occur.

"It's important for us to train in a real-life situation like this because it allows our members to interact elements of the emergency response team ... to see how the protocols work, how the exchange of information goes and identify any training requirements or areas that we should work on," said Sgt. Al McCambridge of the Yellowknife RCMP.

McCambridge said there were some minor communication problems during the exercise, but said it's not unusual to have "minor glitches and confusion" with nine agencies working on different radio systems and frequencies.

"Those (problems) were identified and overcome," said McCambridge.

Other minor issues were addressed during a de-briefing at the end of the exercise and will be dealt with during training exercises in the future.

McCambrige said the mock hijacking exercise was necessary because of the increase in overseas flights flying over the NWT over the past few years.

"...What we have to remember is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure here and that we have to practice for any eventuality and any contingency," said McCambridge.

Taxpayers incurred a minimal operational cost of $1,000 for casualty make-ups, food and other materials required for the exercise, thanks to the utilization of on-duty personnel.