When I was a new flight surgeon in the RCAF, 25 years ago, part of my job was to ride in the crash ambulance for the frequent crash drills and occasional crash response. It was a beefy 4x4 truck that could run over almost anything out on that big prairie airfield. Great fun, better than pilot medicals anyway.
It was drilled into me by the Base Surgeon and Fire Chief that we were to approach scenes carefully, scanning the ground despite any spectacle and using a "walker" in front of us if there was any doubt, (i.e. night, tall grass). During one night time "OpEval" the HQ staff had strewn mannequins in dark coveralls around a crash site to see if we would crush one in all the excitement.
ARFF on military airfields was pretty well staffed in those days, but I wonder how many crew were in the SFO ARFF foam trucks? FAA FAR 139:319 states the trucks need to be crewed to permit the "minimum agent discharge rates". That could just be a driver alone who can flip on the foam switch. That's just one pair of eyes.
The NFPA has a recommended a more robust ARFF staffing level, but of course that isn't required and so not followed at most civil fields I've seen.
The NTSB will look at the ARFF response, I suspect will see something about the minimal ARFF staffing at Cat B airports.
Last edited by Sawbones62; 19th Jul 2013 at 20:12.