Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, October 1, 2010
In compliance with International Organization of Civil Aviation (OACI) norms and in accordance with the Airport Law and Part 7 of the Airport Services Manual regarding Emergency Planning, the Puerto Vallarta International Airport today conducted a large-scale bomb and gasoline storage facility fire drill.
The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate response quality during an emergency situation, as well as the coordination among internal and external groups.
The drill was coordinated by the Airport’s Operations and Security Division’s Management Team, and included the participation of federal authorities converging on the airport, such as the Civil Aeronautical Authority (DGAC), the Federal Police (PF), Sanidad Internacional, SEDENA and SEMAR, as well as companies such as ASA Combustibles and various volunteers.
The external support personnel were from two municipalities, Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas. From Puerto Vallarta, the Municipal Civil Protection Unit, the Assistant Manager of Municipal Firefighters and the Assistant Manager of Municipal Transit were present, while from Bahía de Banderas, Civil Protection and Firefighter Management, the State of Jalisco’s Secretary of Transport and Commerce and the State of Jalisco’s United Civil Protection and Firefighters were present. Also participating were Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas’ Delegation of the Mexican Red Cross, Federal Police, the Secretary of National Defense and the Secretary of the Marines.
The event also counted on the participation of evaluators and external observers from Bahía de Banderas and Puerto Vallarta’s emergency bodies, as well as members of operations teams from other GAP airports.
The drill commenced at 10:00 am with an emergency declaration at the airport’s gasoline storage facility. As a result, in accordance with the Emergency Plan, the Fire and Rescue Team (CREI) began work to extinguish the fire and rescue the injured with assistance from the Puerto Vallarta Fire Department and paramedics from the Red Cross. At approximately 11:30, the drill concluded.
