Blog of Aaron J.: nfpa 403

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ARFF Operations at Air Shows

"Waddington Air Show 361" by Alan Schoolar

The 2018 edition of NFPA 403, Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Services at Airports, includes an added section (Chapter 10, Special Events) for ARFF services at air shows. Though it is a short section, it provides needed minimum guidance for ARFF departments tasked with hosting these events.

ARFF units must be able to respond and deploy agents within 60 seconds, within the aerobatic box.

Aerobatic box: airspace at an airshow where aircraft are authorized to perform aerobatic maneuvers.

Firefighter shall have full PPE donned during the period of air show waiver.

Air show waiver: FAA document that authorizes certain aircraft operations to deviate from a regulation

ARFF apparatus must continuously have their engines running.
A pre-plan must be created and shared with fire department personnel.
At least (1) Firefighter from each ARFF apparatus must meet with the pilot-in-command to discuss the following items:

Emergency extraction
Canopy release
Fuel shutoff
Master on/off switch
Aircraft lift points

The fire department must meet with air traffic control tower operators, air show operators, and air boss to determine:

Standard radio communications
runway/taxiway clearances

Incident Commander (or a Liason) should be stationed with the air bos throughout the air show.

Air boss: individual with primary responsibility for air show operations

Staffing for ARFF Departments

Osan airmen by DVIDSHUB

For those departments having airport rescue firefighting NFPA 1710 references NFPA 403, Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services at Airports for minimum staffing requirements.

ARFF operations should be minimally staffed according to the index rating of the airport, as shown in these tables from NFPA 403.

Staffing above these minimums should be determined by the performance of a task analysis. The task resource analysis is conducted in six stages and based on the needs and demands of the airport. The task and resource analysis model is outlined in Annex D of NFPA 403.

Stage 1: State the goals and objectives of ARFF services and tasks.

Goal:

Objective:

Task:

Stage 2: Identify potential incidents. These should be worst-case scenario based on event history, fire data, and facility statistics, and a risk assessment.

Stage 3: Identify types of aircraft most commonly used at the airport.

Stage 4: Identify worst-case scenario incident locations or possible areas of incident occurrence.

Stage 5: Combine Stages 2, 3, and 4 - correlate accident types with possible worst-case scenario locations.

Stage 6: Based on the scenario in Stage 5, conduct a task and resource analysis to determine minimum ARFF personnel. This analysis should be conducted as a table-top exercise in real time and in sequential order. Elements should include:

Receive call, dispatch ARFF units.
Respond to scene, operate ARFF vehicle.
Apply extinguishing agents and deploy equipment.
Assist passenger and crew evacuation.
Access aircraft for firefighting, rescue, and other operations.
Support and sustain continuing firefighting and rescue operations.
Support and sustain water supply.
Replenish foam supplies.

NFPA 1710 further requires that aircraft incidents have a dedicated incident commander. Any airport fire department with structural fire protection requirements should meet the staffing requirements of NFPA 1710, section 5.2.2.

Agent Re-supply for ARFF Operations

How much fire extinguishing agent should an ARFF department have available? Is there a set amount of agent that is needed? What are some guidelines for determining agent quantity?

NFPA 402, Guide for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Operations, acknowledges that it would be impractical to keep a stock of extinguishing agent on hand for the worst case scenario. To mitigate any issue of an extinguishing agent shortage, pre-arrangements should be made. Pre-fire plans and mutual aid agreements should detail the expectations for additional agencies to provide aid in the form of bringing additional agent to the scene. Support should be requested early in an incident.

The initial water supply on a piece of apparatus should be assumed to be used up within 5 minutes of the incident. Based on the fact that ARFF apparatus carry enough agent (foam) for at least 1 water refill, NFPA 403, Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting at Airports requires 100% refill capability within the critical rescue and firefighting access area.

The critical rescue and firefighting access area is a rectangular area extending 500 feet out from the centerline of the runway, and 3,300 feet beyond each end of the runway. It is within this space that most aircraft accidents are expected to occur.

To determine the 100% capability a needs analysis must be conducted. All water sources and refill capabilities should be assessed. Recommendations for meeting the 100% refill requirements should be made. These recommendations may include water sources from: