9/11, Emergency Management, and Gander Newfoundland

I was fortunate to meet Jake Turner, Town Manager of Gander, Newfoundland when planes coming into US east coast airspace were diverted to Gander, NL.  The Broadway hit,  Come From Away, tells the story of what happened when thousands of people descended on a town of 11,000. It takes a little license by making the mayor the center of attention when the town manager was the responsible party.  Like many small towns, the town manager is responsible for the budget, day to day functions, and recommendations to the town council. The town manager also is involved in emergency management.

As a well-functioning community, Gander had an emergency plan and had information about coordinating with the Gander Airport but, of course, not for this kind of event.  Gander NL is a little different from most of our small communities in that it has a federally managed airport with an extremely long run way, built for Canadian, English and American forces to go back and forth during WWII.  It was the closest point to Europe.  That was why all the planes were diverted to Gander. Gander hosted about 38 diverted planes.  The community and surrounding communities housed and fed about 6800 people. Today, many of those people return to Gander to visit. The airport is also a tourist location in that it has retained much of its mid-century décor.

Jake Turner was the Chief Administrative Officer of Gander Newfoundland serving for 22 years from 1991 to 2013.  Listen to what Mr. Turner had to say about that day and how the town coordinated with the many other agencies that became involved over the coming days.  

Your town’s emergency plan probably started as relatively small document coordinated by the fire department.  The fire department had to be able to handle fires, including the huge wild fires in western United States but also fires caused by trucks tipping over with unknown carcinogens.  A good emergency management plan has responsibilities listed for town officials from the town manager to the fire chief; emergency communication plans; coordination plans with county, state and federal officials, hospital and airport officials; and considers a variety of emergencies from active shooters to meth labs.  Officials may have participated in table-top exercises to run through a scenario and work out what problems they may face.  Just as hospitals have emergency exercises, some towns  actively run through a mock-up scenario with volunteers from the community participating.

Town of Gander Newfoundland
Gander Airport

Fire and Emergency Services Newfoundland and Labrador https://www.gov.nl.ca/fes/

Maine Emergency Management