(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indianapolis Airport Authority Fire Department is set to kick-off a three-day fire-training exercise this morning.
The series of simulated, two-alarm fire drills will run through Thursday and will give the Indy airport fire department, along with local fire departments from across Central Indiana and throughout the state, the chance to test their skills, knowledge, and experience.
More than 15 fire departments from across the state will participate in this training exercise with nearly 60 participants in total. Fire departments from as far north as New Haven and as far south as Bloomington will be represented.
Other Central Indiana communities like Carmel, Noblesville, and Speedway will participate as well.
The exercise will take place at a vacant six-story former hotel located near Indy airport property and will simulate a large-scale hotel fire. Exercises of this size give local first responder units hands-on practice in handling an emergency of this magnitude.
“This type of simulation is often difficult for smaller communities to put together, due to the resources required to successfully create a realistic situation,” said Indianapolis Airport Authority Fire Chief Rick Gentry. “This training exercise will take firefighters through a full-scale simulation of a two-alarm fire, without using real smoke or fire.”
Residents and businesses on south High School Road will see an increased presence of emergency vehicles during the three-day event and should not be concerned. There will be two main training sessions from 9 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. until 3:45 p.m., each day.
“We appreciate the participation of our local first responder units from surrounding communities,” said Keith Berlen, IAA sr. director of operations and public safety. “This collaboration helps to make us all better prepared to act in a moment of need, and it enables us to collectively enhance the value we deliver to the communities that depend on us.”
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) operations will not be impacted by this emergency exercise.
