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SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Environmental
Tectonics Corporation (Amex: ETC) ("ETC" or the "Company") today announced the
successful completion of their second training session at Baltimore/Washington
International Airport (BWI) utilizing their multi-user virtual-reality (VR)
simulation trainer, the Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS(TM)).
Following a successful provisional exercise conducted last March, ETC was selected by the Maryland Aviation Administration to develop and conduct a series of three additional programs to train relevant BWI personnel in airport disaster response within three different scenarios: a security breach, a bomb detection/explosion and a hazardous material release. During the week of December 12th, ADMS was used to train BWI airport personnel in dealing with a terrorist-related hazardous material release. BWI's first responders, including the airport's Fire Rescue Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Police, and the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Team, were presented with this rare and extreme situation to train as a unified team headed by joint command. The multi-jurisdictional team was also able to exercise and apply the National Incident Management System (NIMS) for standardized disaster response procedure, which has been recently instituted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Training Instructor begins the virtual exercise and announces an incoming control tower communication relating an emergency situation involving an inbound jetliner carrying 70 passengers. The pilot has reported that many passengers and crewmembers are exhibiting signs of severe medical distress including vomiting and convulsing. The aircraft will land in ten minutes. The appointed Incident Commander then begins to enact the emergency plan, navigating his view of the scene on a large projection of the 3D virtual world coupled with 3D sound, while communicating with his team leaders who, in turn, issue orders for executing their procedures. For each response organization, ETC proctors input these orders into linked training stations. The results of decisions and commands play out in real-time, and are viewed in 3D on each team's station, representing their individual points of view of the scene. Before the aircraft lands, Fire Rescue, EMS, Police and Hazmat teams are in place and ready. Upon the aircraft's hard landing, a wheel fire breaks out due to overexerted braking and Fire Rescue responds, extinguishing the fire. As the scenario progresses it is discovered that sarin exposure is to blame for the incident, and the medical team is called upon for mass- decontamination, triage and treatment procedures. The police in turn enact their security measures, as it is assumed that the terrorist is among the passengers. A representative from Airport Operations is also present for the exercise, and is involved in the communication process in dealing with the press and security, as well as making decisions about shutting down adjacent runways, taxiways and gates. Dealing with security-related threats, fire- and explosion-related disasters and biochemical incidents requires incident response personnel to place themselves within the immediate threat of danger and requires them to make appropriate decisions under extreme stress. Simulation training has been proven to be a leading contributor to increasing emergency responders' preparedness levels, and ADMS Intelligent VR Technology(TM) allows the exercises to be driven by the decision-making process, providing realistic, yet safe and efficient training. BWI Fire & Rescue Dept. Chief Woodrow "Woody" Cullum said, "When I decided to play the role of Incident Commander and lead by example, this virtual training environment provided me the feelings you would expect to have while responding to an actual incident. Especially the feelings of anxiety and stress coupled with the pressure of trying to think about everything you need to do and say." ADMS systems are currently used by Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, Orlando/Sanford International Airport, Honolulu International Airport, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Florida's Office of Emergency Management, Florida's Department of Transportation Consortium, the Florida State Fire College, the UK Ministry of Defense, Kawasaki Industrial, UK's International Fire Training Centre, and Netherlands' National Institute for Fire Services and Disaster Management. Visit the ADMS Web site at http://www.ADMSTraining.com. |
www.admstraining.com