AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING NMI eyes to become a training hub

Wearing a fireman’s suit with an oxygen tank on their back, firefighters moved swiftly to rescue a burning airplane with 400 gallons of aviation fuel. It took them about four minutes to put off a huge fire, but in real life, they have 90 seconds to do that.

As the CNMI aims to become the site for the Western Pacific Regional Aircraft Rescue and Fire Training Facility, some 24 firefighters from the CNMI, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau and Marshall Islands came here for a one-week basic fire training course conducted by the Commonwealth Ports Authority.

The training is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications, which sets an internationally recognized standard in the fire service and related fields.

According to Martinez R. Jacobs, airport firefighting staff officer of the Department of Transportation in Hawaii, the ports authority here has a capable staff that can handle the training of firefighters in the region. He came here to assist CPA in the training program.

Jacobs recently conducted an assessment on the capability of the different fire fighting groups in the Micronesian islands. Compared to Saipan, Jacobs said, airports in most parts of Micronesia do not have their own firefighters, relying mostly on the firemen assigned at the Department of Public Safety. And because of this, they also lack the knowledge on their responsibilities in the event of an aircraft emergency.

“You have very credible and an excellent pool of talent here that can conduct training not only in Micronesia but nearby Asian countries as well,” said Jacobs.

As air transportation continues to attract increasing number of travelers, FAA, the federal agency responsible for regulatory oversight of commercial aviation in the United States, has been under pressure to improve safety standards.

In 1960, the number of passengers on U.S. airlines increased from 52 million to 530 million in 1996. FAA predicts that in the year 2008, commercial air carriers will fly nearly a billion passengers.

According to a study conducted by the Coalition for Airport and Airplane Passenger Safety entitled “Surviving the Crash”, the potential for disaster has increased significantly in recent years because more planes are carrying larger numbers of passengers, often flying to and from facilities not equipped or staffed to handle bigger traffic.

“More specifically, these facilities are ill-prepared to respond to aviation accidents because they are operating under outdated regulations designed when fewer travelers were flying in smaller aircraft landing at facilities handling far less traffic than is the case today,” the study said.

Most airplane crashes occur during takeoff and landing, and when airport fire fighters can reach crash victims in those first minutes, the survival rate is near 100 percent.

Unfortunately, too many airports do not have the capability to respond quickly because they lack the fire fighting personnel and equipment. Such situation puts the lives of passengers and fire fighters in jeopardy.

Capability

With its available trained people and facility, the Commonwealth Ports Authority can conduct training for its own staff, saving the agency some $5,000 per person it used to spend in sending them to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.

“With the savings, we can concentrate on the training and purchase of more equipment, said Stanley Torres, CPA’s chief of the Aircraft Rescue and Fire. Guam personnel came to Saipan twice to use the CPA facility for the live fire training.

Asked when would CPA hire women fire fighters, Torres said the ports authority has always welcomed female applicants as long as they are physically fit. In Hawaii, the women fire fighters outperform men in the training.

“As long as you can prove that you can handle the job, I will accept women for the job. You just have to remember that fire fighters need to be physically fit for the job,” he said.

CPA Executive Director Carlos H. Salas has already sent a letter to FAA expressing Saipan’s interest to take the lead in providing ARFF training to airport and city fire fighters from the Pacific region and nearby Asian communities. FAA officials already came and inspected Saipan but there’s no official word yet from the aviation authority.

Among the advantages offered by Saipan include the availability of land within the airport property which has been specifically designated for the proposed Regional Aircraft Rescue Training. There is no danger at all that smoke from the training would hamper airport operations since the normal path of winds carry the training smoke away from the airport active runway and terminal facilities.

The land area surrounding the proposed site is an airport property and there are no residential or commercial buildings nearby.

With the training, CPA would have to purchase additional equipment such as proximity suits and self-contained breathing apparatus for the program. The existing ARFF vehicles would be used for the training.

CPA has submitted to FAA an application to replace a 19-year old 1500 gallon Oshkosh ARFF truck but wants it upgraded to a 3000 gallon ARFF vehicle to be used for both current ARFF operations and the RATF.

An existing facility, which is about 2,240 sq. ft. area, owned by CPA, would be renovated into a classroom and locker/shower room located within the airport property.

Currently, the Northern Marianas College offers a Fire Science Associates Degree program and additional fire service courses through Adult and Continuing Education Department for College Equivalency Units which CPA ARFF is actively involved in.

NMC is willing to work together with CPA to ensure that the academic curriculum certification process and instructors are provided for the ARFF training program.