PORTLAND, Maine — Portland-area fire departments conducted a mock exercise for fire safety training at the Portland International Jetport Friday morning.
Federal regulations require airport firefighters to practice handling airport-specific fire safety, and Portland crews were involved this morning to help support their community during times of concern.
"Aircraft firefighting is a specialty," Portland Deputy Fire Chief David Petruccelli said. "It's not just going into an apartment building or a house or a business that the firefighters do on a daily basis. So [we came] out [to] get some orientation on what to expect [for] the layout of the plane, what happens inside the fuselage, [and] the areas of the plane that can burn on the outside, the fuel spills."
Incidents typically occur two to five times per month.
“For an example, a pilot may declare an ‘Alert 2’ where they have a problem that may cause an accident that the fire crew responds [to] within three minutes,” Petruccelli said. “[We] call on surrounding towns and [the] airport fire crew goes on standby.”
Currently, the Portland International Jetport maintains the positions of officer and fire fighter as a limited crew of two.
The airport utilizes city fire and EMS apparatuses as additional support to the Portland International Jetport team.
“Air travel is still the safest, [and] we’re there as a safety backup, but we’re prepared,” Petruccelli said. "[Training is] only required to be done on a 12-month cycle, but we stay on top of it, and those fire fighters are busy every day: being familiar with the airfield, being familiar with their equipment, and being ready to respond.”
In January, Portland International Jetport will have an opportunity to restore a fire fighter position to expand the on-duty crew to a total of three members. This expansion will allow the crew to administer more foam product onto the airfield in case of an incident.