[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 112 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29447-29448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14563]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Airport Rescue and Firefighting Mission Response Study
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of opportunity for comment.
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SUMMARY: This document invites the public to comment on issues relating
to a study of the mission and requirements for airport fire service.
Senate Report 103-310 on the Department of Transportation Fiscal Year
1995 Appropriations Act requested that the FAA review airport fire
protection required by 14 CFR part 139, Certification and Operations:
Land Airports Serving Certain Air Carriers, emergency response to
hazardous materials incidents, and emergency medical services (EMS) at
airports. FAA was asked to examine and compare rescue and firefighting
requirements at civil facilities with the fire services required by
military regulation at Department of Defense (DOD) facilities and to
report to Congress on these issues. Comment is invited on specific
issues rather than on a draft document. This notice provides
information on the issues identified and directions for commenting on
issues within the study scope.
DATES: Comments are due on or before July 10, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to: Federal Aviation
Administration, Office of Airport Safety and Standards, Attention: AAS-
100, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. Commenters
wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their request must include a
pre-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is
made: ``Comments on study of mission and requirements for civil airport
rescue and firefighting service.'' The postcard will be date stamped
and mailed to the requester. Comments resulting from this Notice may be
examined at the above address in room 615B on weekdays, except on
Federal holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James W. Bushee, Manager, Design and
Operations Criteria Division, AAS-100, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
3446.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has undertaken a study of the
mission requirements and responsibilities of airports and the personnel
responsible for providing rescue and firefighting service at military
and civil-use airports. Information has been obtained on current Air
Force and Navy regulations for military aviation and structural
firefighting. Information has also been obtained from a cross-section
of civil aviation airports subject to regulation under 14 CFR part 139.
In this activity, FAA consulted with the industry's Airport Rescue
Firefighting Working Group, a non-profit technical organization of
professional firefighters established primarily as an educational
exchange network to analyze and discuss procedures to be utilized when
dealing with aviation situations and emergencies.
ISSUES: Data gathering identified the following issues which highlight
differences between military and civil airport fire service missions:
Organizational structure. Civil airport firefighting units must be
viewed in the context of the community in which they are located. At
some airports, the units are under the direction of the airport
manager/airport fire chief while at other airports the units are part
of a larger firefighting organization and may be under the direction of
someone located off the airport, e.g., the chief of the municipal fire
department. All airport firefighting units have the capability to
address aircraft accidents and incidents. Some airports have the
capability within their firefighting units to address other emergencies
such as structural firefighting, hazardous materials incidents, and
medical emergencies. Other airports look to the surrounding communities
to provide these services. In contrast, the military places the
responsibility for all emergencies on the facility commander. All
emergency services on a military airfield are under the direction of
the base commander,
[[Page 29448]]
regardless of whether the emergency is an aircraft accident or
incident, a structural fire on base but possibly off the airfield, a
hazardous materials incident, or a medical emergency.
Aircraft firefighting--the extent of the mission. The civil airport
fire service requirement, pursuant to 14 CFR part 139, is to provide an
escape path from a burning airplane. Mutual-aid agreements and
community emergency response teams supplement the civil airport fire
service to provide for extended firefighting and EMS. Military fire
service regulations provide firefighters and equipment for both initial
and extended firefighting. In addition, military fire service is
trained for and equipped to deal with munitions as hazardous materials
and extraction of pilots and crew from burning aircraft.
Aircraft firefighting--the size of the fire suppression area. Civil
airport fire service requires sufficient water mixed with firefighting
agent (in terms of quantity and delivery rate) to control or suppress
any fire in an area of sufficient size to permit the occupants of the
aircraft to escape. Military fire service requires staff, equipment,
and sufficient fire combat agents to continue to fight the fire to
total extinguishment.
Structural firefighting and rescue. Civil airports, as a part of
the community, are afforded community structural fire protection. In
planning for emergencies, including response to structural fires,
communities station firefighters, trained and equipped for rescue
operations and fighting structural fires, throughout the community.
Where distances dictate, a community may station structural
firefighters on an airport. Military airport fire service, by
comparison, includes training and equipment for response to structural
fires on the military installation.
Hazardous materials incidents. This issue deals with whether
response to hazardous material incidents must be provided by a civil
airport fire service. Many communities support the airport's need for
response to hazardous material incidents with trained firefighters
stationed on the airport or in close proximity to the airport. Others
meet this infrequent need with trained individuals responding from
surrounding communities through mutual-aid agreements. The military
mission, on the other hand, involves special training and the frequent
handling of incidents where hazardous materials such as live munitions
are present. Consequently, response to hazardous materials incidents
are the norm and an integral part of the military fire service mission.
EMS at airports. Most communities respond to medical emergencies
with medical personnel that are not integral to the airport fire
service. Most military installations, being self-contained communities,
have a hospital. The hospital mission normally encompasses EMS response
to accidents or incident on the airfield.
Prior to finalizing the report and developing conclusions, FAA is
seeking information from interested parties on these issues. Comments
are invited on the issues, subsets of these issues that may need
special analyses, or other issues of concern relating to the
Congressionally requested scope of study.
Issued in Washington, DC on June 4, 1996.
David L. Bennett,
Director, Office of Airport Safety and Standards.
[FR Doc. 96-14563 Filed 6-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
