Photo from a previous rescue exercise by Francis Zera.

The Port of Seattle is warning travelers that they’ll be holding fire rescue exercises at Sea-Tac Airport between Tuesday (Dec. 6) and Friday (Dec. 9) this week, so if you see large gatherings of emergency vehicles around the airport, don’t panic – they’re just holding drills.

“Expect visual distraction but no traffic impact,” reads a press release, which continues:

Passengers heading in and out of Sea-Tac Airport this week may notice large gatherings of emergency vehicles underneath the Link light rail station and outside the exit to the main terminal garage. This will be part of annual emergency rescue training exercises for south Puget Sound firefighters. No traffic impacts are expected, however, this will be a visual distraction for people heading into and out of the airport.

Please be aware – these are only drills, not actual emergencies.

The exercises will occur Tuesday, December 6 through Friday, December 9 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Multiple emergency response vehicles from agencies throughout the area will be at the site each day. Many will park just outside the exit to the main terminal garage, and drills will be performed at ground level directly below the Link light rail station. Signage will note to drivers these are exercises and drills.

Specialty rescue teams will practice confined space rescues at underground vaults beneath the light rail station. These exercises will simulate actual rescue conditions for persons trapped or disabled in the vaults. The exercises are part of annual certification requirements for specialty rescue teams.