ARFFS FIRE AND RESCUE TRAINING/STANDARDS PRESENTED BY R. SWANEPOEL HEAD FIRE AND RESQUE TRAINING LANSERIA INTERNATIONAL FIRE TRAINING

Key points on discussion Objective of ARFFS. Response Time. SACAA audit. Required knowledge and skills for airport fire fighters. Training equipment and facilities.

ICAO – ARFF Objective • The principal objective of ARFF service is to save lives in the event of an aircraft accident or incident occurring at or in the immediate vicinity of an aerodrome. • The ARRF service is provided to create and maintain survivable conditions, to provide egress routes for occupants and to initiate the rescue of those occupants unable to make their escape without direct aid.

ARFF RESPONSE TIME • The operational objective of the ARRS should be to achieve response times of TWO(2) minutes not exceeding THREE(3) minutes. • Response time is regarded as the time from initial call is received until the first responding vehicle arrives at the scene and is in position to discharge at least 50% of the required rate of foam production on to the fire. • As the response time is of out most importance, it also form part as priority in the training curriculum.

SACAA AUDIT/90 DAY TRAINING ARFFS undergo every 90 day training audit as a requirement from the SACAA. No other municipal Fire Department gets audited against their training and standards. The 90 day training is a compulsory excluding from all the other training curriculum that takes place.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR ARFFS • ICAO Annex 14, which contains 12 training subjects and mandates initial and ongoing training, but without a required/recommended curriculum, specific practical skills or exercises. So, where no national regulation exists, it is the responsibility of the relevant authority and the training officer to compile a training curriculum and supervise its execution. According to the ICAO Airport Emergency Planning Manual at least two firefighters per shift should have advanced training in emergency medicine, others should have first aid training. Considering the fact that there is no separate medical service at smaller airports, accident victims would have to wait at least 10 to 15 minutes for the first outside help to arrive. It is wise to have first aid-trained personnel, in order not to lose precious time during the golden hour of trauma. After all, our duty is to save lives.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR ARFFS • An airport firefighter needs a lot of technical skills that are hard to gain or practice anywhere else. The aircraft he is supposed to work on is rarely available for training. A lot of new technologies are applied on modern commercial aircraft as well – in airframe structures, new types of ultra strength materials are used, as well as integrated systems EXAMPLES OF SKILLED TRAINING: Airport familiarisation, Aircraft Technical overview, Aircraft systems, Advance aircraft fire fighting etc. All curriculum are followed and based on the NFPA STANDARD.

TRAINING EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES All simulations have limitations, but they are still far better than just listening and trying to imagine in a classroom how something works. It is the task of the training officer to know which type of simulation and training aid is the best option for each skill and knowledge. There need to be a properly structured budged for training equipment and the up keeping of training facilities and mock-up. Practical simulations is no doubt a priority. Based on my experience, a person who has never opened a Boeing 737 door will have difficulty to do it the first time due to the special mechanism. Someone who hasn’t opened a B737NG over wing exit from the outside, will likely be pushed off the wing due to the spring loading. And how do we open a B737 door from the outside, when the emergency slide might be armed?  These are only some examples of numerous required skills.

THANK YOU QUESTIONS? PRESENTED BY R. SWANEPOEL HEAD FIRE AND RESQUE TRAINING LANSERIA INTERNATIONAL FIRE TRAINING