“Macedonia” Airport | Large-scale emergency exercise by National Centre for Emergency Care (EKAB)

Defence Redefined

Published on 28/11/2021 at 14:00

A large-scale emergency exercise of Fraport Greece took place at the airport “Macedonia” in Thessaloniki.

According to the scenario of the exercise on an A320 aircraft with 94 passengers, a fire broke out in one of the engines during take-off. The crew immediately stopped the take-off process and evacuated the aircraft. The exercise was attended by 15 rescuers – ambulance crews and 4 doctors, 5 ambulances, 1 mobile medical unit, 1 motorcycle of the Motorcycles Response Unit as well as a vehicle of the Special Disaster Medicine Unit. At the same time, for the realistic implementation of the exercise scenario, twelve graduate students of IEK-EKAB (rescuers – ambulance crews) provided assistance. 

The EKAB rescuers and doctors headed to the “scene” where the incident took place with the Special Disaster Medicine Unit’s doctor, Olympia Nicolaidou, and implemented exemplary projected practices and international standards in the Triage process, based on a system of “priorities” designed to maximize the number of survivors (during such events).

At the same time, the personnel of the Health Operations Center of EKAB in Northern Greece had put on high alert – for the reception of the injured – the on-duty Hospitals (University General Hospital of Thessaloniki “AHEPA” and the General Hospital of Thessaloniki “G. Gennimatas”) as well as the other Health Facilities of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki, where 50 “cases” were taken.

According to an announcement by the National Centre for Emergency Care, this large-scale Emergency Exercise of Fraport Greece had the common goal to assess the operational efficiency of emergency response procedures, the implementation of the Triage process, but also the communication and cooperation with other emergency rescue agencies involved (General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Fire Service and Hellenic Police).

The exercise was attended, among others, by the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, A. Tzitzikostas, the President of EKAB, Nikos Papaefstathiou, and the Chief Operations Officer of Fraport Greece, Elias Maragakis. The President of EKAB was accompanied, as observers of the operational activity of EKAB, by the Director of the Special Disaster Medicine Unit, Dr. Anastasia Zygoura, the Director of Medical Services of EKAB, Dr. Dimitris Pyrros, the Director of the Thessaloniki EKAB Department, Dr. Christina Karampelidou, and operations personnel of the Health Operations Centre as well as the EKAB Coordination Center.

Also read: Hellenic Coast Guard | Counter-Piracy Exercise at the Port of Piraeus – VIDEO