The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires all air carrier airports to hold a full-scale emergency exercise every three years. These exercises are meant to test the ability of the airport, local emergency responders, hospitals, and other community agencies to mitigate a large-scale emergency event. Nantucket Memorial Airport conducted this exercise in April 2024, with the participation of their primary emergency response partners, Nantucket Fire Department, Nantucket Police Department, and Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

Code Red Consultants (CRC) assisted Nantucket Memorial Airport in planning and executing the 2024 Full Scale Exercise. CRC facilitated meetings with emergency response stakeholders to determine exercise goals beginning in November 2023, with individual objectives and key results created for each goal over the next several months. CRC used these goals and objectives to develop an exercise plan, controller-evaluator’s handbook, and evaluator guide for the exercise following the U.S. Department of Homeland Security HSEEP guidelines.

On the day of the exercise, emergency responders faced a simulated aircraft accident, which included 58 student volunteers from Nantucket High School acting as victims. CRC provided a team of controllers and evaluators to coordinate and observe the emergency response, including fire suppression, emergency medical triage, treatment, transport, and incident management. CRC performed a “hot wash” with emergency responders, airport staff, and volunteer victims after the exercise’s conclusion to allow all participants to share their insights and perspectives. Project deliverables included an After-Action Report, which reviewed all aspects of the exercise and identified strengths and areas of improvement as noted by the evaluators.