The Fire and Rescue Unit of the Sri Lanka Air Force carried out fire drill at Lanka Hospitals this evening on 10 February, 2011 using a simulated blaze.

37 SLAF personnel participated in the fire fighting and rescue exercise which was carried out under the instructions of the Officer Commanding of the SLAF Fire Unit, Squadron Leader C.P Hettiarachchi.

This is the third successful fire drill conducted by the SLAF and the first within a hospital enclosure. Due to the very same reason, the SLAF Fire crew was mindful of the patients while proceeding with the operation.



Nearly 500 personnel from the hospital participated actively in the fire drill. While the simulated flames were doused using fire trucks with heavy duty water hoses, the SLAF firemen demonstrated several rescue tactics such as aerial rope rescue and high angle rescue using the Bronto sky-lifter. The crew also employed the ‘HazMat’ method to transport hazardous material such as chemicals and other medicinal items to safety.