22right From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 417 posts, RR: 1 Posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 6748 times:
I was just wondering...
Do most major airports have a dedicated fire crew on the premises all of the time? If so, what do these people do all day and night? I mean I can understand their indispensable need in case of that emergency that can strike at any moment. But lets face it, those emergencies are (fortunately) very very rare. So do they have any other duties at all, besides giving water cannon salutes on occasions such as pilot retiring, inaugural flights, etc.
I bet it would get real boring in a few days, even if you are around airplanes all day.
Any comments?
"I never apologize! I am sorry, but that's the way it is!" - Homer Simpson
RareBear From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 553 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6571 times:
They train, they practice, they work on/repair equipment, they study, they cook, they eat, then they train and practice some more. Time goes by quickly.
Copter808 From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 752 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6542 times:
I'm sure that considerable time is spent in training and housekeeping details. Keep in mind however, they respond to things other than crashes.
ORD sees the ambulance/paramedic responding to numerous calls involving passengers and employees.
The crash rescue equipment responds to fuel spills involving equipment failure or overfilling the fuel tanks, emergency landings, several landings where the flight crew want the equipment standing by, as well as a list of other things.
They don't get to respond to a crash very often, but at a major airport, there is plenty to do.
FinnWings From Finland, joined Oct 2003, 640 posts, RR: 3 Reply 3, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6522 times:
They have also some smaller "emergencies" quite often... It isn't so rare that there is some oil or Jet A1 on the apron which must be removed. Also false alarms from automatic fire detectors cause some extra work for the fire crews. They also take care that there isn't too much birds near the runways as those could be hazardous for aircrafts.
Fire crews are very important and well trained people. I really respect their work at the airport (and elsewhere)... Good to know that there is always professional staff taking care of any kind of emergencies which might occur.
FRASYD From Germany, joined Mar 2004, 176 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6487 times:
Well, it is certainly true that at some (smaller) airports there is not that much to do for them. But most of these guys are real freaks concerning sports. In SYD I often saw them running around their fire house... besides as you stated above:
- A lot of maintenance and testing of the equipment
- In some airports like HHN a lot of control for refuelling when Pax are still onboard
- A lot of response to false fire alarms in the terminal
- dry up fuel spills
-practice at the training facilities
-give tours to school groups
-watch out during engine run ups
Isitsafenow From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4984 posts, RR: 26 Reply 5, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6483 times:
Those trucks are prowling around a lot more then one would imagine.
I have always seen a fire truck or emergency vehicle driving around ORD.
Sometimes they just drive around instead of stay in the firehouse. The crew at ORD is always doing something. They are ready.
safe
If two people agree on EVERYTHING, then one isn't necessary.
Birdy92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 23 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6458 times:
At some of the smaller airports, ATW for example, they are the first response department for Greenville, WI (the town that ATW is actually in), since the Greenville dept. is a volunteer department.
7E7Fan From Sweden, joined May 2004, 72 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6432 times:
At Stockholm Arlanda (ESSA) they are mostly made up by young guys doing their "military service" there instead of in the armed services. My brother used to be a fire fighter at Arlanda and from what he told me there was a lot of training and studying.
From the alarm bell going off until they had to be on site and commenced putting out the fire they only had 90 seconds, day and night, no matter where on the airport grounds the fire was. The idea was that the fire would be out in less than 120 seconds in case there was one. But getting those big trucks and all the equipment there in such a short time and yet keep from colliding with any other aircraft or buildings takes quite a lot of training.
Then they also had to study all the different aircraft types that service Arlanda. So that they know how many emergency exits there are and where they're located. How many passengers would it be able to carry at typical configurations is good to know in an emergency evac situation for instance, especially since it is not unknown for the pilots to be so focused on getting their plane down in one piece that exactly how many people might be onboard might not always be the first thing on their mind as in "the Gimli Glider" case for instance.
WhiteHatter From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 6368 times:
Many crews are also the first line paramedics and are trained as such. They can be at any point on an airfield within 2 minutes, so can respond faster than an ambulance crew to a medical emergency in the terminal.
SparkyN501 From United States of America, joined Jun 2004, 52 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 6323 times:
I know that here the fire dept spends a lot of time checking the fire suppression systems of the airport. They spend hours every week checking valves, pressure gauges, and emergency equipment in the terminal.
Arguing with a pilot is like mudwrestling a pig. After awhile you begin to think the pig likes it.
A3204eva From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2004, 1060 posts, RR: 5 Reply 11, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 6253 times:
Well at BLK, there isn't enough baggage handlers....So when there's a flight, the firemen load/unload the aircraft and put the stairs up to the aircraft.
When there isn't a flight, they train in medical and firefighting situations.
A320
"They have lady pilots......... they're not that good, but they have 'em"
EMBQA From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 9286 posts, RR: 13 Reply 12, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 6232 times:
Well, we scrapped out an aircraft here in BNA last year and after all the usable parts where removed, we called the fire station and they came over and had fun training, sawing, chopping and down right ripping apart what was left.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog"
Srbmod From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 16888 posts, RR: 51 Reply 13, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 6174 times:
I've driven past the fire station next to South Cargo @ ATL many times and seen a few of them practicing their chip shots or practicing their casting technique.
SlamClick From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 10062 posts, RR: 71 Reply 14, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 17 hours ago) and read 6162 times:
And soon they will drive out and shoot a water arch over my last arrival!
Happiness is not seeing another trite Ste. Maarten photo all week long.
Propulsion From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 294 posts, RR: 4 Reply 16, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 16 hours ago) and read 6023 times:
They plaster 'Mine is bigger than yours' stickers across the airport fire station.
On particularly quite days, they also like to post '4 cannons 4 fire engines' on their vehicles.
When bored they try out the sirens and lights on the fire engines as though they have never heard or seen them before. They then continue to actively enjoy the sadistic thrill associated with denying school children from finding the right buttons to do just that.
When no one is looking, they like to stick an 'A340-300' sticker on their fire engines and race down the runway as fast as possible in the futile hope that the thing will actually take-off and fly.
A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
N276AASTT From US Virgin Islands, joined Jan 2004, 620 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 16 hours ago) and read 6014 times:
I am currently a FireFighter for the Air Force. Granted, being on a military installation airport is different than a civilian one, a lot of what we do is similar.
There is a lot of studying and training. Our chief's don't want us to be complacent, so there is always something planned for us to do. We have what we call upgrade training that is never-ending. Whether we are learning to be a Fire Inspector, Fire Officer, or the new guys who are learning to be Airport Fire Rescue, etc. We are always learning new things and going over the old.
Aircraft familiarization and drills. We are always touring the outside and inside of different aircraft so we have an understanding of what to expect. We always have to keep in mind that all aircraft interiors differ from airline to airline, so there is no one exact model that we can go from. On the outside, the initial set up of trucks is different on a narrowbody vs a widebody.
Building familiarization and drills. Again, we are always touring the outside and inside of the different airport buildings so we know what to expect. All structures on the airport grounds we are responsible for, we have to know them. We have to know where fire hydrants are, connections, sprinkler systems, water mains and shut offs, and fire alarm panels just to name a few.
Medical and Rescue. A lot of times we are the first to arrive on scene to an emergency, so we have to be able to "treat" a patient until better trained, equipped personnel arrive. That includes crashes where we are responsible for setting up triage. I have been dispatched to calls that range from sprained ankles, an accidental drowning, and people who have fallen in man-holes. Confined Space Rescue is a must as well. A lot of our upgrade training revolves around medical calls. I have achieved First Responder status and will soon be working on EMT.
It may seem a lot, but taken in small doses over time and it isn't overwhelming at all. After all this, there is a lot of time where we are sitting around as our shifts are 24 hours on duty, 24 hours off. The station I'm at we have a full size gym, sauna, volleyball, basketball, computers, movie room and huge kitchen. Big, big dinners are happening all the time. We have our resident Steven Spielberg who is in charge of bringing in movies.
OH! Can't forget the most important, keeping our trucks clean and serviceable. Our trucks cannot shine enough! It is a great job that I have grown to love and wouldn't trade it for anything.
N276AASTT From US Virgin Islands, joined Jan 2004, 620 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 5957 times:
Propulsion:
LOL, I like your response. I wish we could do what you said, that would be fun.
Story:
I was deployed to the desert this past winter. A USO tour came through showcasing Tom Green. He toured our station and hopped into the biggest truck we had there. A quick once over of the systems and the truck was started. If you know Tom Green, you know what happened next. He unloaded 3,000 gallons of water into our parking lot using the roof turret on the truck. Nothing escaped him, not even the tour bus he came in. The force of the water at 200 psi knocked out several windows of the bus and knocked a few people over. Funny as hell. Good times
Propulsion From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 294 posts, RR: 4 Reply 20, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 5940 times:
You have been propelled to my respected users list for all reasons apart from respect.
Actually, I do have a very high regard for your profession and enjoyed your story about the bus. You can see from my profile that I have a thing for buses.
I have gone to the trouble of vetting all 195 of your posts as I am, like many an airliners.net members, a completely pointlessly fastidious and predantic message poster who feels this forum is my living room, such is my unconsciously dire state in life.
A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
Propulsion From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 294 posts, RR: 4 Reply 22, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 5891 times:
Blink182:
As far as I am aware, only those in Antarctica are blessed with such virtues as more than one fire station per airport. I always thought it was something to do with reduced visibility between the runway and fire stations for different periods during the year. I now know that it is due to the number of penguins on the runway incidents.
A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
GulfstreamGuy From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 626 posts, RR: 6 Reply 23, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 5868 times:
22right,
Wow, what a coincidence that you should ask that question. I just got the opportunity to ride in one yesterday (28th) here in LIT. That was something I always wanted to do since I started at the airport in '93. Most of the firefighters just think of their jobs as a usual job but after only driving luggage tugs and push back tractors around all day it was thrilling!.. although.. I would have to say I enjoy pushing back or towing our DC9s and CRJs around!
Theiler From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 633 posts, RR: 1 Reply 24, posted (8 years 10 months 4 weeks 12 hours ago) and read 5801 times:
What could be better than playing with an Oshkosh P-15 all day (in larger airports)?!
At 130,000 lbs, the thing is so big that many bridges can't support its weight. They have one over at Pease... and suffice to say, it doesn't leave base very often, from what I've heard.
25 Propulsion: After seeing the link by Theiler, you will all see what I mean by '4 cannons 4 fire engines' from my earlier post now, don't you?
26 PROSA: Actually, many urban, non-airport fire companies are finding themselves with a lot of time on their hands, at least in the United States. For a variet
27 Tcfc424: In AUS, being a fire fighter myself, I know a little of the goings on at the AUS airport fire station...also due to an ambitious junior fire fighter w
28 High_flyr69: I did work experience at The Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting Service based at MEL. You cannot believe the intensity of work involved on a daily basi
29 Av8rphx: Here in Phoenix,we have a dedicated fire station for PHX. Station 19 is comprised of Engine/Paramedic 19,Squad 19 (BLS), Battalion 19, Foam 1,2 and 3.
30 Squad55: I know a retired LAFD Captain for Station 80 at LAX. He said they respond to 1.5 calls per day. Station 80 houses the crash trucks. There is another
32 Laxintl: Airport Fire Departments are certainly not a slow or quiet place to work. To give you an example of LAX. There are primarily 3 Fire Stations, responsi
33 7E7Fan: Follow up on my Arlanda (ESSA) post above... Funnily enough the airport fire fighters there are not allowed to fight fires in the terminals in case th
34 Qblue: YVR just took back the contract from the local Richmond Fire and Rescue. So YVR had to hire a whole new crew,then had them trained in the best ARFF mo
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From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 417 posts, 
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And there I was thinking airport fire crew fight fires. 
How stupid of me? 
).
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