Canadian and American military forces and first responders were in Oro-Medonte for a mock disaster on Thursday, all part of an annual training exercise.
The exercise is called TIGEREX and the scenario is hijacked plan collides with another aircraft mid-flight, crashing into a remote area of Oro-Medonte, leaving more than 20 casualties needing to be found and rescued.
“It is very realistic, we even hired some makeup artists to make the injuries as real as possible,” says 424 Squadron Captain Claude Courcelles.
Search and rescue technicians, known as SarTechs, ran the exercise – preparing the team for any situations.
“Search and rescue covers from the prairies to the middle of Quebec, from the 49th parallel to the Arctic. So we have to be able to flex our search and rescue capabilities all over the country,” says Hercules pilot Captain Dan Desjardins.
This training is critical for every person in every role, preparing for the unknown.
“Jumping is jumping, even if it’s a mission for training we still going out of an aircraft and risk of injuries is pretty high so that’s what makes the training really important,” says Master Corporal Steve Delage.
From landing on the ground to taking off with patients, the exercise is how a real-life rescue unfolds, involving co-operation between military forces and local first responders.
“It’s very realistic training and it gives us an idea of if something like this were to happen in the township, how we should react to it,” says Oro-Medonte Fire Prevention Officer John Wigle.
