RFFS at BHX 14 Nov 2010

[AltFlaps]

Morning,

Whilst we were on turnaround in BHX yesteday, the airport fire service had a callout to a smoke alarm in Terminal 1.

ALL BHX fire appliances attended (the shed was empty afterwards). Does this mean that RFFS was temporarily downgraded?
There was no mention of a downgrade on the tower or ground frequency, and aircraft were arriving and departing as normal.

Just wondering what the requirements are with a situation like this?

[BOAC]

I would guess that unless a significant number of machines/firemen are actually involved in pumping at an actual fire all facilities would still be 'available'. If airports closed for each 'smoke alarm'..................................

[GK430]

No need to downgrade cover unless stocks of foam depleted down through various CAT levels. The vehicles would have been able to respond just as readily from the terminal area as they would have from the AFS.

[Helen49]

The Officer in Charge of the RFF at a licensed aerodrome is responsible for ensuring that the required 'response times' can be met [ie vehicles to the scene and delivering media]. This enables RFF personnel to engage in other duties such as those mentioned. If these times cannot be met, then the available fire category must be downgraded and notified.
H49

[isitcheerie]

Provided the vehicles and manpower required for the declared RFF Category are able to be immediately re-directed, no downgrade is required. This will usually be the case in a 'domestic' fire/alarm situation, but once appliances have deployed hoses then they cannot be-redirected within the required time so downgrade takes place which usually occurs in the event of an actual aircraft incident.

[Doors to Automatic]

In this instance would they not call in the local fire brigade to deal with the terminal fire as soon as possible?

[Helen49]

Some airports use the Local Authority Fire Service for non-aircraft incidents, thereby retaining the full integrity of the Airports RFFS for aircraft. Others [mainly the larger airports] have resources over and above those required for aircraft incidents, which are provided for non-aircraft incidents. Whilst many airports operate in the manner mentioned at BHX; meeting the aircraft requirements and balancing that with a circumspect response to
the non-aircraft incidents
H49

[Spitoon]

In this instance would they not call in the local fire brigade to deal with the terminal fire as soon as possible?Yes - quite probably - but the airport RFFS will probably get there quicker and will know the environment better. If there is a fire, much better to deal with it when it's small than to wait for the external services.

If it's not a false alarm and the media/personnel deployed to deal with it reduce the level of RFF cover then the OIC will declare this fact.