...I haven't posted anything on pprune since before the 9000 member mark...but here goes,
Thirteen Twelve,i am glad you 'upper cased' the words 'APPEARED' & 'SEEMED' in your post otherwise some people may have got the wrong impression and may have thought your inferrence was that BHX fire service's response wasn't immeadiate and without professional application to the task.
The FACTS are that;
1)The fire station alarms & doors were activated 1 to 2 seconds post impact
2)The fire vehicles arrived at approx impact +1 minute
3)The perceived delay in applying the fire-fighting medium was,as you probably would agree 'one of those slow motion moments' but several things have to be considered -
a)a brief assessment of impact site prevailing wind etc for successful retardant application,vehicle /crew safety
b)fire crews would have to suit up in B.A kit
c)fire vehicles cannot charge up to the crash site and start dumping foam there and then as casualties may lie in the path of the vehicles - a route to the closest point that foam/water can be successfully applied must be found before final tender / crash site closure attempted .
In all reality this will have happened very quickly ,but as this tragedy unfolded time must have almost stood still...as many of my colleagues have testified to that fact
I do not want to start a tit-for-tat posting thing here but having read your initial post,i think it was ,to me at least,a little insensitive as many people ,Ops,police,fire service etc. will have been deeply affected by that terrible day,and knowing some read this forum, 'your opinion'(and everyone has a right to one) may have appeared to infer to some,that BHX fire service MAY not have operated at their utmost professional and without speedy efficiency,which would be totally incorrect and without factual basis.
What's it got to do with me,an aircraft technician? My father was i/c the second airport tender on scene ,his wife was the watchroom officer who witnessed the incident and raised the alarms....both deeply affected by what they saw.
My sympathies to all the victims and their families and to all ground staff involved on that tragic weekend