BEMIDJI – Firefighters, police, EMS and a bomb squad respond to reports of a plane crash at the Bemidji Regional Airport on Friday.

They quench the flames, treat the injured and de-escalate the situation in a way that past training has prepared them for.

Luckily, the emergency personnel were not responding to a real crisis last week, but rather a triennial live-action plane crash simulation that’s required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“It’s a big practice, that’s what this is,” Bemidji Regional Airport Director of Operations Ehren Inkel said. “If we have an actual air crash, this would essentially be our response.”

Taking place every three years, the simulation allows emergency response personnel to hone their skills should a disaster ever transpire in real life.

“It’s hard

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