There is a big difference from working in the fire service at an airport compared to being in a local fire station.
Growing up in an FDNY fire house & then spending time while in the Air Force as a member of the Fire Rescue service at an active SAC base home to over 120 bombers, tankers, Air National Guard fighters, Army helicopters, in addition to housing private aircraft & have our runways used by several airlines, we were kept busy. Some times we had 20 or more runs a day for runway stand-by's & various calls. We did not handle any EMS calls. We provided coverage to all the building's on base, two off base - housing areas, an off base ammo storage area, besides a school & a hospital. We also supported 2 Army Nike sites, & over a dozen remote AF facilities so 50 miles away. Like JFK, we had a very long runway, over ten thousand feet. The base became a site which the space ships could land in case of an emergency. We were connected to the local town, a state capital, what had a 10 station paid department. Every other dept in the area was volunteer so we did run mutual aid calls into the main town. The paid dept also supported our mission when needed.
Our dept worked out of 4 stations. Three were dual stations that covered both structure & crash. Only one station was totally dedicated to structure with two engines assigned.
Our manning called for 5 firefighters on crash trucks. The most I ever saw was 3. The driver, crew chief, & a hand line man. We had a light rescue that could only carry a crew of two. No ladder trucks, but today some bases have one. Some of the crash trucks ran with only the driver who also was responsible for operating the remote nozzles on each of the trucks. With dual engines, we could pump & roll at the same time.
I was recently talking with a chief in a medium size paid dept who provides local airport coverage for an active airport. They do not have the manning for each rig that we would think that they should have. That is why PAPD sends trained police officers in their police vehicle to assist crash truck crews. Yes, JFK has two stations while LGA has only one. From what I learned reading this subject tonight is that PA has increased the manning on the trucks. If FDNY took over providing coverage at the airport, I don't think that we would see an increase in the manning. The new crash rescue vehicles are set up for one person operation. Depending upon their extinguishing operation expect to see them operate for about two minutes before run out of water. Our structure rigs & tankers would be responsible for re-supplying the water. The trucks were designed to carry addition foam before that tank ran dry. We were able to refill two or more times before heading back to the station or a tanker for additional foam.
Today PAPD has come a long way just like FDNY has in the past few years. Increase training is needed so that FDNY can lean the dangers of working on an airport. It is a different world out there... Remember that you just can't drive around on their ground like we do on a city street.
Like all the other airports, PAPD is required to meet the FAA requirements for extinguishing the fire. The question asked is can the Crash Rescue team handle the aircraft that use the field? With their assigned equipment, I think that they can.
I want to thank KYE 994 for his updated insight into Port Authority Operation & if your first name began with a 'B' then I think we have worked together before.
