Lights and sirens were sounding at Lismore Regional Airport this morning, as a crucial emergency exercise was undertaken to test the airport's emergency plan.

Multiple emergency agencies, including the NSW Police, NSW Fire Brigade, Rural Fire Service, NSW Ambulance, SES, Red Cross and Lismore City Council were involved in the exercise.

Actors and mannequins with simulated injuries and an aircraft with simulated damage was set up on the runway, which allowed the emergency agencies to test their response capabilities.

Airport Manager Mark Davis outlined the simulation, that is part of the biannual emergency exercise.

“This is a requirement that’s imposed by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority,” he said.

“It's really to test our emergency plan for the airport, so it's a multi-agency response simulating an aircraft accident today.”

“It's landed and it's suffered a right main gear failure, which has resulted in the wing impacting the ground, which has broken the wing off.”

“There's been a fuel spill, it's caught on fire, so the fire brigade comes in… they secure the area and then start triaging, and that's when the other emergency services step in.”

“We've got Ambulance, Fire and Rescue, Rural Fire Service, Police Rescue, Police, SES, and we even have the Red Cross up in the terminal to greet family members, that have loved ones that might have been in the accident.”

“It's so important to really test how the different agencies communicate and work with each other, it's a learning exercise really, to reinforce the skills that everyone has.”

“It really does show that these guys and girls really know what they're doing, they cooperate extremely well, and it really shows that they all know their place in the scenarios… they do a great job.”

Whilst it was all action stations outside on the runway, inside the terminal remains a shell of its former self. However, a Lismore City Council spokesperson said the process for rebuilding is underway.

“Council’s Managing Contractor Bennett Constructions is currently carrying out a scope of work for repairs to all Council-owned buildings, including the airport building and associated infrastructure,” they said.

“From this, Council will then work through a process on how to prioritise work.”

“We thank the community for its understanding and patience as we continue to rebuild our city.”