“My name is Carlos and I am the Emergency Management Training Officer for Operational Continuity Emergency Management Programs (OCEMP) at the GTAA. I have been with the organization for 19 years. In my current role, I’m responsible for conducting a number of training courses, such as Incident Management Systems, Aircraft Recognition, Building Evacuations, and training various emergency response stakeholders on airport operations. I help create and facilitate emergency exercises and act as the Exercise Director the day of the exercise. When I’m not training, I am preparing, updating training courses and working on upcoming exercises. It’s imperative that I am always prepared, and my programs are always current and engaging.
“Emergency exercises are critical to everyone’s safety. These exercises are designed to test and confirm the functionality and efficacy of emergency plans, procedures, and protocols at Canada’s largest airport. Emergency exercises can be very complex and take several months of work and planning to build. I have the great fortune of working with a very talented team at OCEMP. We work closely together as we build off each other’s strengths and experiences.
“I’m especially excited for this year’s emergency exercise on May 28. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to hold one since 2017. I’m really looking forward to the learnings we can acquire from the agencies that are participating, such as Toronto Fire and Peel Regional Police. It’s a really great experience to practice our emergency procedures in real time with over 200 volunteers playing the role of passengers and employees, and over 300 total participants!
“My favourite aspect of my role is the training. I have been in a training role for the last 32 years, both here at the GTAA and in my previous positions in the airline industry. It gives me so much pleasure sharing my extensive knowledge and experience. There’s a strong sense of satisfaction in engaging students who are enthusiastic and want to learn about something that they are interested in. When you can feel like you’ve contributed to someone’s knowledge base, it’s very rewarding.”
- Carlos, Emergency Management Training Officer, GTAA
“Emergency exercises are critical to everyone’s safety. These exercises are designed to test and confirm the functionality and efficacy of emergency plans, procedures, and protocols at Canada’s largest airport. Emergency exercises can be very complex and take several months of work and planning to build. I have the great fortune of working with a very talented team at OCEMP. We work closely together as we build off each other’s strengths and experiences.
“I’m especially excited for this year’s emergency exercise on May 28. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to hold one since 2017. I’m really looking forward to the learnings we can acquire from the agencies that are participating, such as Toronto Fire and Peel Regional Police. It’s a really great experience to practice our emergency procedures in real time with over 200 volunteers playing the role of passengers and employees, and over 300 total participants!
“My favourite aspect of my role is the training. I have been in a training role for the last 32 years, both here at the GTAA and in my previous positions in the airline industry. It gives me so much pleasure sharing my extensive knowledge and experience. There’s a strong sense of satisfaction in engaging students who are enthusiastic and want to learn about something that they are interested in. When you can feel like you’ve contributed to someone’s knowledge base, it’s very rewarding.”
- Carlos, Emergency Management Training Officer, GTAA