Estonian first responders rehearse a drone attack on a school
Estonia's emergency services ran a large-scale, realistic exercise at Kilingi-Nõmme High School in Pärnu County to practice responding to a drone explosion. The drill was held because the threat from unmanned aerial vehicles is growing.
Emergency services in western Estonia held a large-scale, realistic crisis exercise on Saturday at Kilingi-Nõmme High School in Pärnu County. Rescuers, police and medical staff practiced responding to a drone attack on a school, as the threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles increases. The event was covered by the Estonian public broadcaster's evening news programme "Aktuaalne kaamera".
The scenario
In the scenario, a drone flew into the school foyer and exploded. The children were evacuated, and rescue crews and ambulances arrived within minutes. However, injured students and a teacher remained trapped in a third-floor classroom.
Kristjan Kaunissaar, field commander at the Western Rescue Center, said the school supplied roughly 20 simulated casualties. Police, rescue, ambulance and bomb disposal personnel also took part. Rescuers had to bring the children down from the third floor, while medics carried out rapid triage. Young people in special-effects makeup played the wounded pupils.
Participants' views
Aaron, a 12th-grade student, was given a facial injury and described the exercise as exciting. Lissa, also in 12th grade, was assigned more serious wounds, including shrapnel injuries to her legs and stomach. She found the rescuers' work slow. "I think I should actually have been dead a long time ago," she told the programme.
Arvi, the school's national defense teacher, said he was satisfied with the rescue services' performance. He added that similar situations had been practiced in earlier exercises.
Purpose of the drill
The school organized the exercise because the drone threat is constantly present. It used the event to test whether its crisis plan would hold up in a situation more realistic than what is written on paper or a standard fire drill. Harri Kramm, the school's facilities manager and the exercise organizer, said it went well but that there are always more lessons to learn.
