Mission
The Airport Rescue and Firefighting Station is responsible for aircraft emergencies that occur at the El Paso International Airport. The Station is located on airport property and is staffed 24 hours daily. In addition to aircraft emergencies, the crew responds to medical emergencies at the terminal and inside the perimeter of the airport. Other types of incidents include fuel spills, accidents, hazardous materials incidents, and calls for assistance.
Vehicle Descriptions
ARFF 1 - 2017 Oshkosh Striker Aircraft Firefighting Vehicle
Unit has a snozzle, which offers the unit the ability to apply water, foam, and Halotron from various heights without exposing the firefighter and vehicle to dangers associated with hazardous cargo, fuel, and heat that may accompany an aircraft incident. Attached to the snozzle is a piercing nozzle, which may be used to pierce the skin of an aircraft and expel agent to the interior. A thermal imager is also mounted on the snozzle. This allows the firefighter to locate the source of the fire in an aircraft allowing precise application of extinguishing agent on the fire. Agents
- 1500 gallons water
- 210 gallons Aqueous Film-Forming-Foam (AFFF)
- 460 pounds of Halotron I
ARFF 2 - 2012 OshkoshStrikerAircraft Firefighting Vehicle
Agents
- 1500 gallons Water
- 210 gallons Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF)
- 500 lbs Dry Chem
ARFF 3 - 2000 Oshkosh TI-3000 Aircraft Firefighting Vehicle
Unit has a snozzle, which offers the unit the ability to apply water, foam, and Halotron from various heights without exposing the firefighter and vehicle to dangers associated with hazardous cargo, fuel, and heat that may accompany an aircraft incident. Attached to the snozzle is a piercing nozzle, which may be used to pierce the skin of an aircraft and expel agent to the interior. A thermal imager is also mounted on the snozzle. This allows the firefighter to locate the source of the fire in an aircraft allowing precise application of extinguishing agent on the fire.
Agents
- 3000 gallons Water
- 420 gallons Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF)
- 460 lbs Dry Chem
R-ARFF 1 - 1999 Oshkosh TI-1500Aircraft Firefighting Vehicle
Agents
- 1500 gallons Water
- 210 gallons Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF)
- 460 pounds of Halotron I
ARFF 4 - 2017 Ford 550 Crew Cab pickup (Twin Agent Unit)
Carries various tools and extinguishing agents used for aircraft emergencies such as:
- 150 gallons of Premix 3% Foam
- 450 lbs of Potassium Bicarbonate (Purple K)
- medical supplies
- forcible entry tools
- saws
- thermal imager
- self-contained breathing apparatus
- Met L X Portable Extinguisher
- Halotron Portable Extiguisher
ARFF 5 - 2012 Ford F250 pickup
Primarily used as the on-scene Incident Commander until the arrival of the Battalion Chief. Carries forcible entry tools, SCBA, Airbags, medical equipment
ARFF 6 -2005 Ford F350 Crew Cab pickup
Carries various tools used for aircraft emergencies such as:
- medical supplies
- forcible entry tools
- saws
- rescue air bags
ARFF 7 - 2006 16 Passenger van
used for administrative purposes.
ARFF 8 -2016 Ford F250 pickup
Battalion Chief of ARFF
R32 -2015 Ford F450 Ambulance
Medical ALS Unit - two personnel assigned and carries medical equpment for ALS medical emergencies:
RR32 -2009 Ford F450 Ambulance
ReserveMedical ALS Unit - two personnel assigned andcarries medical equpment for ALS medical emergencies:
Personnel & Station
Airport Fire Station operates 24 hours a day/7 days a week. There are 3 shifts of firefighters which rotate. Firefighters work an average of 56 hours per week.
Staffing - The airport station is staffed with a minimum of 6 personnel on-duty for the Aircraft Firefighting vehicles and another 2 personnel for the Medic unit. The Airport Fire Station is staffed by El Paso Fire Department firefighters. The majority of these firefighters are structurally certified.
The Airport Fire Station is located in the center of the airfield, situated between the runways. The first aircraft firefighting vehicle is required by the Federal Aviation Administration to reach the midpoint of the furthest air carrier runway in less than 3 minutes upon notification of alarm by the Air Traffic Control Tower.
Training
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Texas Commission on Fire Protection require personnel that work in Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting maintain their proficiency in the following:
- Airport Familiarization
- Aircraft Familiarization
- Personal Safety
- Emergency Communication
- Fire hose, turrets, nozzles and other equipment
- Fire extinguishing agents
- Emergency aircraft evacuation
- Firefighting operations
- Adapting structural equipment to aircraft firefighting
- Aircraft cargo hazards
- Airport Emergency Plan
ARFF certification encompasses 120 hours initial training in the above subjects and recurrent annual training. Fire fighters assigned to the ARFF division must attend an annual live burn exercise. The El Paso Fire Department has used the training facilities at Salt Lake City, Texas A&M, Dallas-Fort Worth and Lubbock to accomplish this requirement. Currently, the City of El Paso does not have a FAA compliant training facility to satisfy this requirement.