Alliance Airport Description
During the course of this semester, I was able to visit the Alliance Airport located in Fort Worth, TX.The airport is owned by the city of Fort Worth and serviced by a private company called Alliance Air Services ("Fort Worth Alliance Airport", n.d.). Alliance Airport serves some corporate aviation however, they support mostly cargo and military aviation. Alliance Airport has set up an agreement with Station 35 which is located on the airport premises that they will provide services to the airport however, they are also able to serve outside the airport since they are part of the Fort Worth Fire Department. During my visit with the firefighters of station 35, I was able to gather information on their approach to response planning, mutual
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aid agreements, extinguishing agents, equipment, manning, airport category and support, and firefighter.
Category of Airport/Equipment Manning
Alliance Airport fire department falls under different rules since it is not a true airport fire station and is actually part of the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The fire department does not technically have to maintain any type of category, however, if the fire department wants to provide services to the Alliance airport they must have extra training and meet certain regulations. According to information on the website AirNav Alliance airport is considered as an index A ("AirNav: KAFW - Fort Worth Alliance Airport", 2017). The airport and the fire department decided to make a business decision and they maintain an FAA index of E instead of the required A. By maintaining an index of E the fire department always has 3 ARFF vehicles on hand at all times for emergencies. Station 35 has procedures that must be followed daily to ensure the reliability of their emergency equipment. They have checklist for items that must be checked daily and weekly as well as they make sure all discharge logs are kept up to date. Every Saturday the station does a big overhaul check on all …show more content…
items.
Procedures The ARFF team does not declare an emergency they respond to the emergencies. According to the procedures that Station 35 follow is the following individuals can declare an emergency:
• Alliance Air Traffic Control Tower
• Pilot-in-command of the aircraft concerned
• Operator of the aircraft or his/her representative
• Representative of Airport Management or the ARFF Commander
The alliance air traffic controllers are responsible for notifying Station 35 by calling a designated number for emergencies/accidents. If the phone is not picked up by three rings by the station they are to call the Fort Worth Fire Department and notify there is an emergency. When notifying the ARFF team the controller must list the aircraft type, runway #, and type of alert and that nature of the emergency. Once radio contact has been established the ground control will need to notify the team of quantity of fuel, estimated time of arrival and how many passengers or crew are on plane.
Alerts/ARFF Response Station 35 has three different types of alerts that the air traffic control tower uses to determine what actions are needed by the ARFF response team.
Alert 1 is when an aircraft is a minor difficulty and has a potential emergency (ex: oil leak, feathered prop). This type of alert will be on standby outside of Station 35.They will only go on scene if the alert is moved to an alert two by the commander. Alert 2 is when an aircraft approaching the airport is experiencing difficulty (ex: engine fire, no hydraulic pressure). The battalion chief, ARFF trucks, and side trucks will all show up to the emergency. Depending on where the aircraft is coming from the ARFF crew has certain standby positions that they must be at. For example, if the aircraft is landing on runway 16L/34R the first ARFF truck will be at Taxiway C, the second truck will be at Taxiway E and the third truck will be at Taxiway H. Once the aircraft has landed and passed the standby positions of the ARFF trucks they are to proceed behind the aircraft and remain with the aircraft until they are notified that the emergency has been cleared. Alert 3 is when an aircraft is involved in an accident near or within a 5-mile radius of the airport. This is considered a full alarm and all emergency personnel and ARFF trucks will arrive on seen as well as any other emergency personnel from other areas to help assist in the accident. During an alert 3, station 35 will communicate with the air traffic control center and if
communication cannot be accomplished the station 35 will comply with the light signals from the control tower. The airport will become fully shut down until the emergency has been cleared.
** Diagrams of Alliance Airport are attached as Image A and Image B
Mutual Aid agreements/Training Station 35 has mutual agreements with the alliance airport and city of Fort Worth. They also have agreements with majority of the surrounding cities except with Haslett, TX. They are not able to assist with emergencies within Haslett unless it is aircraft related. Since Station 35 is considered a city fire station they have to keep up with all their normal standard training requirements as well as take additional training classes to be able to be approved to support the Alliance Airport. The additional requirements that they follow are outlined in AC-5210.
aid agreements, extinguishing agents, equipment, manning, airport category and support, and firefighter.
Category of Airport/Equipment Manning
Alliance Airport fire department falls under different rules since it is not a true airport fire station and is actually part of the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The fire department does not technically have to maintain any type of category, however, if the fire department wants to provide services to the Alliance airport they must have extra training and meet certain regulations. According to information on the website AirNav Alliance airport is considered as an index A ("AirNav: KAFW - Fort Worth Alliance Airport", 2017). The airport and the fire department decided to make a business decision and they maintain an FAA index of E instead of the required A. By maintaining an index of E the fire department always has 3 ARFF vehicles on hand at all times for emergencies. Station 35 has procedures that must be followed daily to ensure the reliability of their emergency equipment. They have checklist for items that must be checked daily and weekly as well as they make sure all discharge logs are kept up to date. Every Saturday the station does a big overhaul check on all …show more content…
items.
Procedures The ARFF team does not declare an emergency they respond to the emergencies. According to the procedures that Station 35 follow is the following individuals can declare an emergency:
• Alliance Air Traffic Control Tower
• Pilot-in-command of the aircraft concerned
• Operator of the aircraft or his/her representative
• Representative of Airport Management or the ARFF Commander
The alliance air traffic controllers are responsible for notifying Station 35 by calling a designated number for emergencies/accidents. If the phone is not picked up by three rings by the station they are to call the Fort Worth Fire Department and notify there is an emergency. When notifying the ARFF team the controller must list the aircraft type, runway #, and type of alert and that nature of the emergency. Once radio contact has been established the ground control will need to notify the team of quantity of fuel, estimated time of arrival and how many passengers or crew are on plane.
Alerts/ARFF Response Station 35 has three different types of alerts that the air traffic control tower uses to determine what actions are needed by the ARFF response team.
Alert 1 is when an aircraft is a minor difficulty and has a potential emergency (ex: oil leak, feathered prop). This type of alert will be on standby outside of Station 35.They will only go on scene if the alert is moved to an alert two by the commander. Alert 2 is when an aircraft approaching the airport is experiencing difficulty (ex: engine fire, no hydraulic pressure). The battalion chief, ARFF trucks, and side trucks will all show up to the emergency. Depending on where the aircraft is coming from the ARFF crew has certain standby positions that they must be at. For example, if the aircraft is landing on runway 16L/34R the first ARFF truck will be at Taxiway C, the second truck will be at Taxiway E and the third truck will be at Taxiway H. Once the aircraft has landed and passed the standby positions of the ARFF trucks they are to proceed behind the aircraft and remain with the aircraft until they are notified that the emergency has been cleared. Alert 3 is when an aircraft is involved in an accident near or within a 5-mile radius of the airport. This is considered a full alarm and all emergency personnel and ARFF trucks will arrive on seen as well as any other emergency personnel from other areas to help assist in the accident. During an alert 3, station 35 will communicate with the air traffic control center and if
communication cannot be accomplished the station 35 will comply with the light signals from the control tower. The airport will become fully shut down until the emergency has been cleared.
** Diagrams of Alliance Airport are attached as Image A and Image B
Mutual Aid agreements/Training Station 35 has mutual agreements with the alliance airport and city of Fort Worth. They also have agreements with majority of the surrounding cities except with Haslett, TX. They are not able to assist with emergencies within Haslett unless it is aircraft related. Since Station 35 is considered a city fire station they have to keep up with all their normal standard training requirements as well as take additional training classes to be able to be approved to support the Alliance Airport. The additional requirements that they follow are outlined in AC-5210.