Expect activity around Daytona airport Friday for training exercise
DAYTONA BEACH — Daytona Beach International Airport will test its disaster response readiness during a full-scale emergency exercise from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the airport. The training event is part of a triennial requirement of the Federal Aviation Administration that tests the airport’s emergency response capability.
Citizens and businesses who live or work near the airport might hear emergency vehicle sirens and see smoke the during the exercise Friday. They also might see law enforcement and fire rescue activity in the area.
Digital road signs with an “Emergency Drill in Progress” message will be placed at Bellevue Avenue Extension and Tower Road as well as at Bellevue Avenue Extension and Clyde Morris Boulevard.
The exercise will bring together multiple first responders to include federal, state and local law enforcement, fire agencies, hospitals and Volusia County EMS ambulance. There will be more than 300 participants and over 45 local agencies supporting the drill. Over 90 volunteers from the University of Central Florida Nursing Program and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will serve as "victims" for the exercise.
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Emergency responders will begin staging at 7 a.m. Friday at Daytona Beach International Airport. The airport will be open for business as usual during the exercise with no air traffic interruption.
In preparation for the training, the airport tested a smoke pot device on March 13. The smoke pot was expected to generate 500,000 cubic feet of persistent dense white smoke during a five minute burn time.
On Wednesday, the airport also conducted a security exercise test in the baggage claim area. On that day, between 11:30 a.m. and 12:56 p.m., arriving passengers had to show a boarding pass or baggage claim ticket in order to be admitted to the baggage claim area. Airline representatives and airport staff directed passengers and provided any needed assistance.
For more information, contact Air Service, Marketing & Customer Experience Director Joanne Magley at jmagley@flyDAB.com or 386-561-7185.
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach International Airport to hold training exercises Friday
