Firefight or Flight: In-depth on how firefighters prepare for airport emergencies
Allie Anthony
So far this year, 39 planes have gone down and crashed in the United States.
But what happens when there is an emergency at your local airport? At every major airport, both firefighters and airport personnel are on standby if anything should happen.
“Palm Springs fire provides 24/7 protection at the airport, ensuring that we protect the people that fly in and out of Palm Springs, but also the staff that work here at the airport and the critical infrastructure here,” said PSFD Chief Paul Alvarado.
A major role in keeping the airport passengers safe is how first responders prepare for and respond to emergencies from the truck to the training facility on the tarmac. Professionals say it takes months of coordination and communication to make this all happen.
“It’s all interconnected. So there’s a lot of coordination between the airport staff and my control center at the airport, here in the fire station, and then with the air traffic control tower. A lot of it’s behind the scenes, radios and telephones and signals, but a lot of that is happening in real time and ongoing throughout the day,” said Harry Barrett, executive director of aviation.
“The dispatch system here is different than if it was a City response… It’s actually a ring down directly from the tower it dispatches our dispatch center so our firefighters are picking that up and talking to the tower,” Alvarado said.
Flawless execution is the key to saving the most amount of lives in any incident, which is why the fire department and the airport trains year-round to be ready to execute on a moments notice.
News Channel 3’s Allie Anthony and Tori King get an exclusive look at how emergency crews prepare for an airport emergency.