Bhubaneswar : The state fire services personnel will soon be able to carry out rescue operations and other fire-related emergencies in an aircraft.
Around 27 personnel of the state fire services have been trained in the operation of airport crash fire tender (ACFT) in case of a fire mishap at the airports or airstrips.
ACFT is a specially-designed fire tender to carry out rescue and aircraft firefighting. A few days ago, the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) had procured two ACFTs of Rosenbaur-make. Of the 27 personnel, six are currently being trained to operate the Rosenbaur-ACFT, which is technically superior to the conventional aircraft crash tenders, a BPIA official said.
Though bigger airports like the BPIA do have their own aircraft rescue and firefighting teams, we will deploy the personnel of the state fire services at the small airports,” state transport secretary Madhusudan Padhi said.
The training included how to deal with fire during take-off and landing; evacuation of passengers; engine and undercarriage and interior fires. Two trainers, sent by the ACFT supplier, have been camping in the city for the past one week.
Such a training to handle aircraft fire assumes significance as a trainer aircraft crashed and caught fire at the Birasala airstrip in Dhenkanal district on June 8, in which the chief trainer and a trainee pilot were killed.