Hundreds participate in mock plane crash training exercise in Comox Valley
Hundreds of first responders and military personnel worked together on an exercise for a scenario they hope they will never face in real life.
Numerous agencies cooperated on the mock disaster at Airforce Beach near 19 Wing Comox on Wednesday, called Operation Totem Platinum.
The training exercise simulated an airplane crash with several victims.
The Operation Totem Platinum training exercise is shown. May 17, 2023. (CTV News)"[There are] multiple agencies in the Comox Valley area, but very seldom do we work together, so this exercise is about us learning how to work together in case of a real emergency," said training coordinator captain Eric Germain.
Germain says planning for the event began in September of last year and involved more than 500 people.
"We’re looking at about 20 to 25 civilian agencies, roughly 150 to 200 civilians, and probably another 10 to 15 military agencies and roughly 300 military members," he said.
Along with smoke simulating fire scenes, several "casualty actors" were also used for realism, spread throughout the extensive wreckage area.
One of those portraying a crash survivor was Jennifer Joseph, who works at 19 Wing as an engine technician.
"It’s my first time actually doing this so I’m pretty excited to see how it goes, just act and go have fun with it," she said.
"I’m actually working later today, something fun to do in the morning and then go back to work and talk about it," Joseph said.
The Operation Totem Platinum training exercise is shown. May 17, 2023. (CTV News)Daniel Dielissen is also posing as a victim, complete with extensive makeup.
"We were talking Monday night and [Germain] was like, 'I’ll give you the gnarliest one,' and I was like, 'Yes, sign me up," he said.
The Operation Totem Platinum training exercise is shown. May 17, 2023. (CTV News)The joint exercise was closed to the public and was surrounded by security, not to keep the public out but to maintain an area around the scene as they would do with an actual crash.
Fire departments from Courtenay and Comox, along with marine search and rescue teams, also took part.
The Operation Totem Platinum training exercise is shown. May 17, 2023. (CTV News)Several Emergency Health Services ambulances were also on scene with crews transporting the "victims" to the hospital in Courtenay.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Universities grapple with the complicated politics of campus encampments
Montreal police are facing pressure to move in and dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill University campus on Thursday, as a growing number of universities across this country grapple with the tough decision of how to handle the protests.
Police order B.C. woman who praised Hamas not to protest for 5 months, says her group
A pro-Palestinian activist group says its international co-ordinator, who was arrested in a Vancouver hate-crime investigation, was released with an order not to attend any protests for the next five months.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.