[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 112 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29447-29448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14563]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration


Airport Rescue and Firefighting Mission Response Study

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for comment.

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SUMMARY: This document invites the public to comment on issues relating 
to a study of the mission and requirements for airport fire service. 
Senate Report 103-310 on the Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 
1995 Appropriations Act requested that the FAA review airport fire 
protection required by 14 CFR part 139, Certification and Operations: 
Land Airports Serving Certain Air Carriers, emergency response to 
hazardous materials incidents, and emergency medical services (EMS) at 
airports. FAA was asked to examine and compare rescue and firefighting 
requirements at civil facilities with the fire services required by 
military regulation at Department of Defense (DOD) facilities and to 
report to Congress on these issues. Comment is invited on specific 
issues rather than on a draft document. This notice provides 
information on the issues identified and directions for commenting on 
issues within the study scope.

DATES: Comments are due on or before July 10, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to: Federal Aviation 
Administration, Office of Airport Safety and Standards, Attention: AAS-
100, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. Commenters 
wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their request must include a 
pre-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is 
made: ``Comments on study of mission and requirements for civil airport 
rescue and firefighting service.'' The postcard will be date stamped 
and mailed to the requester. Comments resulting from this Notice may be 
examined at the above address in room 615B on weekdays, except on 
Federal holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James W. Bushee, Manager, Design and 
Operations Criteria Division, AAS-100, Federal Aviation Administration, 
800 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
3446.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has undertaken a study of the 
mission requirements and responsibilities of airports and the personnel 
responsible for providing rescue and firefighting service at military 
and civil-use airports. Information has been obtained on current Air 
Force and Navy regulations for military aviation and structural 
firefighting. Information has also been obtained from a cross-section 
of civil aviation airports subject to regulation under 14 CFR part 139. 
In this activity, FAA consulted with the industry's Airport Rescue 
Firefighting Working Group, a non-profit technical organization of 
professional firefighters established primarily as an educational 
exchange network to analyze and discuss procedures to be utilized when 
dealing with aviation situations and emergencies.

ISSUES: Data gathering identified the following issues which highlight 
differences between military and civil airport fire service missions:
    Organizational structure. Civil airport firefighting units must be 
viewed in the context of the community in which they are located. At 
some airports, the units are under the direction of the airport 
manager/airport fire chief while at other airports the units are part 
of a larger firefighting organization and may be under the direction of 
someone located off the airport, e.g., the chief of the municipal fire 
department. All airport firefighting units have the capability to 
address aircraft accidents and incidents. Some airports have the 
capability within their firefighting units to address other emergencies 
such as structural firefighting, hazardous materials incidents, and 
medical emergencies. Other airports look to the surrounding communities 
to provide these services. In contrast, the military places the 
responsibility for all emergencies on the facility commander. All 
emergency services on a military airfield are under the direction of 
the base commander,

[[Page 29448]]

regardless of whether the emergency is an aircraft accident or 
incident, a structural fire on base but possibly off the airfield, a 
hazardous materials incident, or a medical emergency.
    Aircraft firefighting--the extent of the mission. The civil airport 
fire service requirement, pursuant to 14 CFR part 139, is to provide an 
escape path from a burning airplane. Mutual-aid agreements and 
community emergency response teams supplement the civil airport fire 
service to provide for extended firefighting and EMS. Military fire 
service regulations provide firefighters and equipment for both initial 
and extended firefighting. In addition, military fire service is 
trained for and equipped to deal with munitions as hazardous materials 
and extraction of pilots and crew from burning aircraft.
    Aircraft firefighting--the size of the fire suppression area. Civil 
airport fire service requires sufficient water mixed with firefighting 
agent (in terms of quantity and delivery rate) to control or suppress 
any fire in an area of sufficient size to permit the occupants of the 
aircraft to escape. Military fire service requires staff, equipment, 
and sufficient fire combat agents to continue to fight the fire to 
total extinguishment.
    Structural firefighting and rescue. Civil airports, as a part of 
the community, are afforded community structural fire protection. In 
planning for emergencies, including response to structural fires, 
communities station firefighters, trained and equipped for rescue 
operations and fighting structural fires, throughout the community. 
Where distances dictate, a community may station structural 
firefighters on an airport. Military airport fire service, by 
comparison, includes training and equipment for response to structural 
fires on the military installation.
    Hazardous materials incidents. This issue deals with whether 
response to hazardous material incidents must be provided by a civil 
airport fire service. Many communities support the airport's need for 
response to hazardous material incidents with trained firefighters 
stationed on the airport or in close proximity to the airport. Others 
meet this infrequent need with trained individuals responding from 
surrounding communities through mutual-aid agreements. The military 
mission, on the other hand, involves special training and the frequent 
handling of incidents where hazardous materials such as live munitions 
are present. Consequently, response to hazardous materials incidents 
are the norm and an integral part of the military fire service mission.
    EMS at airports. Most communities respond to medical emergencies 
with medical personnel that are not integral to the airport fire 
service. Most military installations, being self-contained communities, 
have a hospital. The hospital mission normally encompasses EMS response 
to accidents or incident on the airfield.
    Prior to finalizing the report and developing conclusions, FAA is 
seeking information from interested parties on these issues. Comments 
are invited on the issues, subsets of these issues that may need 
special analyses, or other issues of concern relating to the 
Congressionally requested scope of study.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 4, 1996.
David L. Bennett,
Director, Office of Airport Safety and Standards.
[FR Doc. 96-14563 Filed 6-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M