Emergency exercise planned for DuPage Airport

There will be a fire and scores of emergency vehicles this weekend at the DuPage Airport in West Chicago.

Fortunately, all the activity will be part of a test.

More than a dozen local and federal agencies will participate Saturday morning in a plane crash simulation at the airport near North Avenue and Powis Road.

The exercise, scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m., is being planned by the DuPage Airport Authority and the West Chicago Fire Protection District.

"One of the unfortunate things that happens in aviation from time to time is there is an emergency response that we have to preform," said David Bird, the authority's executive director. "So being prepared for that - as prepared as we possibly can - is one of our responsibilities."

Patrick Tanner, chief of the West Chicago Fire Protection District, agrees that preparation is key.

The last time the airport had a full-scale emergency exercise was in 2010.

"This exercise will give first responders a chance to work alongside our partners at the airport and other public safety agencies to ensure we are all ready to safely respond to critical incidents at the airport," Tanner said in a statement.

Saturday's drill will include representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the DuPage Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and several area fire departments.

Bird said the participants will get "an invaluable opportunity" to practice responding effectively and safely to a worst-case scenario.

Controlled fires will be set near a bus representing a crashed private airplane. There also will be individuals playing the role of victims.

Bird said the goal is to simulate a crash the airport might experience. "It's going to be as close to an actual event as we can get," he said.

Officials from Waukegan National Airport, the FAA and the DuPage Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will evaluate the exercise and provide feedback to the participants.

With more than 80,000 annual flights at DuPage Airport, authority officials have made significant investments to improve the airport's safety in recent years.

The fire protection district has an on-site aircraft rescue and firefighting station at the airport that is staffed 24 hours a day.

Bird said a new station was built about three years ago in a different location that provides "a more optimal response time to all parts of the airport."