Simpson Bay:— The cooperation from passengers along with the Airport community was effortlessly achieved during a live terminal building evacuation exercise at the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
The SXM Airport’s Rescue and Firefighting Department (R&FF) prearranged a drill that simulated the immediate response and evacuation procedures, which should be used during all instances of a crisis and emergency within and encompassing the terminal building.
Following the activation of the fire alarm system at 8:47 AM, both passengers and the Airport community were instructed to evacuate to the airside and landside at the SXM Airport.
The evacuation exercise is held every two years and is in accordance with the Fire Safety and Evacuation plan of the Princess Juliana International Airport. Although the general public was put on guard beforehand about the date of the exercise to curb any possible panic, the time of the drill was not disclosed, to lend to an effective evaluation of a response during an evacuation.
According to the Manager of the Rescue and Firefighting Department, Manilo Penijn, “The exercise is also implemented to assess the specific functions relating to the emergency response capabilities of the Airport’s emergency preparedness plan. The management levels which were tested included the Strategic, Tactical, and Operational levels. It is also a requirement within the Aerodrome Manual to perform an emergency evacuation exercise twice a year.”
Serving as evaluators were the SXM Airport’s Quality Assurance Department and the local Rescue and Firefighting department of St. Maarten. The emergency evacuation drill was called off at 9:10 AM and normal operations were immediately restored.
