SLAF FIREFIGHTERS PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL FIRE EVACUATION DRILL OF CENTRAL BANK WITH HELICOPTER RAPPELLING AND TECHNICAL RESCUE OPERATION
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Fire and Rescue personnel successfully participated in the Annual Fire Evacuation Drill conducted at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Colombo, today (20 August 2026) in collaboration with the Fire Service Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). The exercise was conducted with the aim of enhancing emergency preparedness, strengthening inter-agency coordination and assessing the operational readiness of emergency response teams in managing complex fire, rescue and evacuation scenarios involving critical national infrastructure.
The exercise was conducted at a high-rise building approximately 40 meters in height, comprising 16 floors and accommodating around 1,200 occupants. The simulated scenario was designed to replicate the challenges associated with a large-scale emergency requiring the evacuation and rescue of occupants from a strategically important national institution.
The simulated emergency involved a fire originating in the kitchen area of Level 15 (10th floor), Tower 04, following a suspected gas leakage. The scenario further assumed that more than seven personnel were trapped within the affected area, with the possibility of additional casualties being located on the fire-affected upper floors. Upon receiving the emergency notification, response teams from the SLAF and CMC Fire Service Department were deployed to conduct coordinated firefighting, rescue and evacuation operations.
The SLAF Fire and Rescue Service deployed three Fire Tenders together with 37 firefighters to support the emergency response. SLAF Firefighters demonstrated their specialized capabilities in Breathing Apparatus (BA) smoke diving, casualty evacuation and technical rope rescue operations, contributing to the overall rescue effort and addressing the challenges associated with the recovery of trapped occupants from a high-rise structure. A key feature of the exercise was the employment of the Specialized Emergency Response Team (SERT) of No. 4 Helicopter Squadron, SLAF Base Ratmalana, which was inserted onto the rooftop of the Central Bank building by rappelling from Bell 412 helicopter.
Following the helicopter insertion, SLAF Firefighters qualified in rope rescue techniques established specialized rope rescue systems and conducted a technical high-rise rope rescue operation to access, recover and evacuate simulated casualties from the affected structure. The operation demonstrated the capability of SLAF Fire and Rescue personnel to combine helicopter-assisted insertion with advanced rope rescue techniques in complex high-rise rescue environments.
Through the continued conduct of realistic and challenging emergency response exercises, SLAF Fire and Rescue personnel remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of operational readiness, technical competence and professional excellence in protecting lives and critical national infrastructure.
The exercise was conducted at a high-rise building approximately 40 meters in height, comprising 16 floors and accommodating around 1,200 occupants. The simulated scenario was designed to replicate the challenges associated with a large-scale emergency requiring the evacuation and rescue of occupants from a strategically important national institution.
The simulated emergency involved a fire originating in the kitchen area of Level 15 (10th floor), Tower 04, following a suspected gas leakage. The scenario further assumed that more than seven personnel were trapped within the affected area, with the possibility of additional casualties being located on the fire-affected upper floors. Upon receiving the emergency notification, response teams from the SLAF and CMC Fire Service Department were deployed to conduct coordinated firefighting, rescue and evacuation operations.
The SLAF Fire and Rescue Service deployed three Fire Tenders together with 37 firefighters to support the emergency response. SLAF Firefighters demonstrated their specialized capabilities in Breathing Apparatus (BA) smoke diving, casualty evacuation and technical rope rescue operations, contributing to the overall rescue effort and addressing the challenges associated with the recovery of trapped occupants from a high-rise structure. A key feature of the exercise was the employment of the Specialized Emergency Response Team (SERT) of No. 4 Helicopter Squadron, SLAF Base Ratmalana, which was inserted onto the rooftop of the Central Bank building by rappelling from Bell 412 helicopter.
Following the helicopter insertion, SLAF Firefighters qualified in rope rescue techniques established specialized rope rescue systems and conducted a technical high-rise rope rescue operation to access, recover and evacuate simulated casualties from the affected structure. The operation demonstrated the capability of SLAF Fire and Rescue personnel to combine helicopter-assisted insertion with advanced rope rescue techniques in complex high-rise rescue environments.
Through the continued conduct of realistic and challenging emergency response exercises, SLAF Fire and Rescue personnel remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of operational readiness, technical competence and professional excellence in protecting lives and critical national infrastructure.
The drill was supervised by Chief Fire Officer of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Group Captain Prasanna Jayawickrama, under the guidance of the Director General Air Operations, Air Vice Marshal Dhammika Dias.
