First responders will use the next two years as an opportunity to get ready to respond any kind of emergency at the new international airport under construction at Badgerys Creek.
Western Sydney International Airport is scheduled to open in late 2026.
By that time emergency personnel expect to be ready to deal with pretty much anything.
They plan to get “match fit’’ by holding regular simulated emergency exercises at the airport site, starting with the first one held yesterday.
The exercise involved all emergency services responding to a jet fuel leak at the airport while a mulch fire burned nearby in dry and windy conditions.
The NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW, WSI, NSW Ambulance and NSW Rural Fire Service worked together to deal with the “emergency’’ at the airport.
Assistant commissioner Brett McFadden, commander of South West metropolitan region, said exercises like this are vital before major infrastructure becomes accessible to the public.
“Today’s exercise is about making sure we are utilising best practice across emergency services, so that when Western Sydney Airport opens, we can confidently meet any issue that arises.
“This exercise is also about collaboration between emergency management stakeholders, all of which are the best at what they do,” Mr McFadden said.
“In the future, we plan to run more of these exercises, focusing on different scenarios, to make sure the people of NSW know that their public safety is in the best hands.’’
Peter Cleary, Fire and Rescue NSW acting area commander of metro south said these exercises were crucial to ensuring readiness in the event of a real-life incident.
“By working together with our emergency services partners, we can test our response plan and protocols in a realistic environment as well as gain a better understanding of each other’s operating procedures, communications and equipment to ensure the safety of the community.”
Western Sydney International Airport chief operating officer Matt Duffy said the exercise was also a great opportunity for airport staff to collaborate with first responders and jointly test emergency management protocols.
“In a genuine emergency, we would be working hand in glove with emergency services, so exercises like this are a great way to put our policies into practice in a live environment to ensure we’re all as prepared as possible,” he said.
“This also marks a new chapter for the airport – with construction now more than 85 per cent complete, we’ll soon begin a lengthy period of operational testing where we really stress test all our infrastructure, systems, and processes ahead of our opening in late 2026.”
