Disaster drill turns dramatic

Marisa O’Neil

A training exercise Wednesday turned into a real-life emergency when

a flash-bang device went off prematurely, injuring a sheriff’s

lieutenant.

The explosive device was meant to signal the start of a

large-scale drill simulating a plane crash on an airport runway.

Instead, it went off as Lt. Jim Lazzaro, a member of the sherriff’s

department bomb squad, held it.

“The device malfunctioned and he suffered burns to his upper thigh

area,” Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino

said.

Lazzaro, a 30-year veteran of the department, was admitted to the

Grossman Burn Center at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana in fair

condition, he said. He suffered first-, second- and third-degree

burns to his leg and hand and second-degree burns to his arms,

Amormino said.

The accident slightly delayed the start of the drill.

Roughly 350 people from 50 agencies participated in the drill --

the largest ever staged at John Wayne Airport, spokesman Justin

McCusker said. Such exercises are required by the Federal Aviation

Administration every three years.

In Wednesday’s hypothetical scenario, the pilot of a Boeing 737

detected a fire on board shortly after takeoff. While making an

emergency landing, the plane skidded off the runway, striking other

aircraft.

Two Orange County Transportation Authority buses and one school

bus stood in for large airplanes loaded with passengers. Two small

airplanes and a car were also involved in the mock emergency.

Fire and rescue vehicles from the Orange County Fire Authority,

the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa fire departments and other safety

agencies quickly responded to the runway when the exercise began.

Normal air traffic continued with takeoffs and landings nearby as

fire hoses sprayed the staged crash scene.

Firefighters in silver, chemical-proof suits and others in regular

fire gear evacuated passengers from the airplanes.

Each passenger wore a tag describing his or her injuries. Some

wore fake blood and makeup simulating burns and cuts.

Firefighters treated passengers according to the severity of their

injuries. A long line of ambulances and two helicopters transported

the passengers to 20 local hospitals also taking part in the

exercise, McCusker said.

Newport Beach resident Roger Otte, a volunteer passenger, wore a

tag that declared him injury-free. Based on firefighters’ response to

the mock emergency, he’d feel confident about their responses during

a real one, he said.

“They were straight-arrow professionals, right down the line,” he

said.

The Newport Beach Fire Department had a truck, two engines and

three battalion chiefs at the exercise, Capt. Ralph Restadius said.

In a real emergency, members of their department would be among the

first on the scene, he said.

The department, as well as every agency taking part, will now go

over what worked, what didn’t and what could be improved, he said.