Airport Fire Services - Articles and news items

Training and readiness is crucial for the fire and rescue staff at your airport

Issue 1 2010, Past issues / 22 February 2010 /

Daily routines, training, readiness (the effort of being constantly ready) – are not new words when we are setting demands for our fire and rescue personnel. This article will give some examples in “lessons learned” from aircraft disasters, in order to give value to the words ‘daily routines’, ‘training and readiness”, and how to use the knowledge in a proactive way.

But first – why this article? ‘Sharing knowledge’ are the key words, because it is very seldom that we in airport fire and rescue actually face a real aircraft accident. On the other hand, there are a lot of expectations with regard to our performance in fire and rescue. Your airport, the airlines, the crew, passengers and everybody from the outside world has this feeling and expects the fire and rescue to know what they are doing in order to save lives.

So both the basic training, coupled with all of the small details, can together make the fire department in your airport a unit that can be counted on when the big thing occurs. (more…)

Keeping up with the pace of rapid globalisation – “A challenge for the Airport Fire Service”

Issue 5 2009, Past issues / 29 September 2009 /

As we look at airports around the world, we see the effects of globalisation. Airports are no longer airports. Globally, airports are evolving into “Airport Cities” pulsating with major development and expansion projects. They are becoming the “Market Places of today’s Economy” becoming “job generators” and the business place of major retailers, hotels, cargo forwarders, conference centres, public transportation facilities and living areas, just to mention a few. The rapid growth and expansion of these airports is a positive reflection towards the “Globalisation Move”, however the move into the global future and the rapid expansion and development of our airports present special and increased challenges for airport’s fire and emergency services. (more…)

The ACCA Fire/Rescue Department

Issue 5 2008, Past issues / 30 September 2008 /

Pittsburgh International Airport’s 10,000 acre facility is protected by the Allegheny County Airport Authority Fire / Rescue Department, which currently operates with 50 personnel, one administrative assistant and 19 pieces of apparatus. The airport facility includes approximately 200 structures, two military installations and approximately 10 miles of a four lane divided highway. The Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) Fire / Rescue Department is responsible for all aircraft emergencies, structural fire response for all constructions on airport property, Emergency Medical Service (EMS), and Hazardous Materials / Weapons of Mass Destruction (HazMat / WMD) incidents. ACAA is also responsible for any other fire or rescue situation including mutual aid.

Pittsburgh International Airport is home to one of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regional ARFF Training Facilities, which is operated by the ACAA Fire/Rescue Department personnel. (more…)

‘World Class Emergency Services at a World Class Airport’

Issue 3 2008, Past issues / 30 May 2008 /

Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport is known as the economic engine for North Texas. It is strategically located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and serves as the gateway to air travel around the world. At over 18,000 acres and with seven runways, DFW continues to be one of the busiest airports in the world.

Airfield operations and a growing market demand for commercial development are forming the big airport into what is becoming known as an ‘Airport City.’ As with any city, public safety is of the utmost importance in protecting the travelling public and the many tenants who call DFW their home.

World-class airports need world-class emergency services and DFW is no exception. The Department of Public Safety at DFW operates out of five stations, with the potential to add two more in the near future due to the introduction of natural gas exploration/production and commercial land development.

With a staff of over 490 personnel, the department is responsible for Police, Fire, and Special Services such as security, access control, and a 911-dispatch centre. Within Fire Services, there are four Divisions; Fire Rescue, Fire Training, Fire Prevention and Planning, and Emergency Medical Services. (more…)

Cargo Aircraft: Planning is Paramount

Issue 5 2007, Past issues / 28 September 2007 /

In Aviation Fire Protection we arrive at work daily and think about all the possible scenarios we might be up against. There is a mindset we have to use to see how our training and planning can fit into any scenario. Each day I come to work and think about my role in any given incident. I look at the weather forecast, the other conditions such as runway and taxiway closures, vehicle status of our ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting) vehicles and personnel status. Then throw in some problems with the roads connecting to our airport and we already have a list of things to think about before we even have a problem. In our industry I’d like to say that we plan for the worst and hope for the best. Sounds a bit cliché but if we did not look at things like this, then we stand the chance of coming up short.

I think back to all the aviation accidents since I’ve been involved in ARFF and the most memorable was the Sioux City, Iowa accident. Those fire fighters all went to work that morning thinking of those very same things I mentioned above, but did they really think they would have an accident of that magnitude drop into their airport? I don’t think they did in their wildest dreams. This incident had all of us associated with ARFF thinking about ‘The Big One’. (more…)

Aircraft rescue fire fighting history

Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /

Since the early existence of man and the advent of fire, there has been a need for fire prevention and fire control. Fire fighting has an established history dating back to the ancient times of our ancestors. We have evolved from bucket brigades to horse drawn pumpers to highly sophisticated vehicles with computerised equipment for agent application. Fire fighting has grown from your local volunteer to the one of the most highly sought after and professional careers today. With so much interest in the fire service and the fire fighters ability to protect and serve the community, there has become a need to have a set of standards. The standards were put in place to provide for and protect the firefighters laying their lives on the line with every call they answer.

With the introduction of flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright, the way in which people travel was about to change. With the on set of the first scheduled airline flights was around 1914, it was only a matter of time before larger and more powerful planes took to the skies. (more…)

Aircraft Interior Access Vehicles for ARFF

Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 16 June 2006 /

Today, there are more commercial passenger aircraft flying than ever. In 2005, there were more than 11 million departures for U.S. air carriers alone – this is equivalent to approximately 31 thousand daily departures.

In the event of emergencies, aircraft rescue firefighters (ARFF) must be prepared to respond quickly in order to save lives. If a fire should involve the interior of a modern-day airliner, new ARFF tools are in place to help those inside the aircraft that may have been incapacitated. New piercing nozzle technology enables airport firefighters to rapidly inject extinguishing agents into the interior of an airliner when open doors are not available. Although these agent application tools are useful in a limited capacity, they cannot physically remove endangered occupants from a toxic aircraft interior. (more…)

Fire training for a safer airport

Issue 3 2005, Past issues / 16 September 2005 /

The best training for your airport’s Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) will not necessarily focus solely on technical ability, writes Tim Oakes.

When an incident occurs at your airport, you are thankful that the brave fire fighters speeding to the scene are adequately trained, with the best equipment at their disposal and the knowledge of how to use it. Or maybe you are not so certain.

When it comes to lives, few would disagree that no expense should be spared for their preservation and in many ways this effort starts and ends with the training and equipping of the fire fighters at your airport. The principal objective of an aerodrome RFFS is to save lives in the event of an aircraft accident or incident. This includes the need to extinguish a fire that may occur immediately following an accident or incident, or during the rescue stage.

Achieving this will be dependent on the training personnel have received, the effectiveness of the equipment and the speed with which competent personnel and equipment can be put to use. (more…)