CLARK AIR BASE, Republic of Philippines -- A mass casualty evacuation drill took place Feb. 25 here, on the airfield.
This was the first of many slated drills to take place as part of Exercise Balikatan 2004.
The drill was a simulation of a C-12, carrying three passengers onboard, going down. Marine Wing Support Squadron 172's crash fire rescue team, out of Camp Foster, Okinawa, arrived on the scene, extinguishing the blaze from the aircraft first.
Then, once the blaze was put out, the emergency team immediately began to look for any passengers aboard the C-12.
"Since the aircraft landed on its side, making it difficult to enter through the doors, we had to break through and make an entry," said Pfc. Matthew Blackman, MWSS-172 crash fire rescue.
The emergency team made an entry point to the aircraft using an ax. Once a hole was made, the "headliner" (the first person to make his way into the aircraft) looked inside to check for fire, smoke and then passengers.
When all was clear, the "rescue man" went into the C-12 and aided the passengers.
After all the passengers were taken out, the rescue team scoured the airfield to find any bodies, injured or lifeless.
One passenger was found with a serious injury, which required her to go to the hospital immediately.
This was the first mass casualty evacuation drill for Blackman, and he can only imagine how a real life emergency would feel. The emotions he felt for this drill seemed as if it were not a mock crash at all, he said.
"My adrenaline was rushing and my heart was pumping. Everything was going so fast. I believe it was a success though," Blackman said.
Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Smith, new to evacuation drills as well, agreed with Blackman's assessment.
"My adrenaline was pumping, too. It was exciting and it felt real. We always train as if it is an actual emergency," he said.
The total time it took the crash fire rescue team to complete the drill was 12 minutes, from receiving the call of an emergency to transporting the victims to safety.
"Twelve minutes is a fast time. On average, it takes about 30 minutes to do what we did; traveling to the airfield, extinguishing the blaze, making an entry point, unloading, and finding passengers. This was good training," said Smith.