An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 | BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD PHOTOS BY ARMN JAMIE BARRETT O n 4th July, An Cosantóir staff visited the Air Corps Fire Training Facility in Baldonnel to see the five students of the Initial Aviation Fire Fighters (IAFF) course being put through their paces on a hot summer's day in Case- ment Aerodrome. The students learn a variety of skills on the six-week course, including basic fire-fighting skills such as hose running, branch, pump and monitor operation, breathing apparatus and search-and-rescue techniques, with a large focus on team- work throughout. At the time of our visit the course was in its fifth week, culminating in a final exercise. Week 6 sees the probationary fire fighters go 'on station' with the Crash Rescue Service (CRS) to learn procedures before going on shift. Capt Jane O'Neill (506 Sqn), Fire Officer and OiC of the course, briefed us on the exercise scenario: "A troop-carrying rotation flight on final approach to Bal- donnel develops an engine fire, which spreads to the undercarriage and the oleo strut (a pneumatic/hydraulic shock absorber located on the landing gear). The fire then develops into an internal fire requiring casualty rescue." Flt Sgt Willie Norton (506 Sqn), who has 40 years' experience in avia- tion fire fighting explained the simulator where the exercise was to take place: "The Air Corps Fire Training Facility is state of the art and regarded as one of the best in the country. It can simulate the undercarriage and engine fire of a Boeing 737 passenger 'plane, a Gulfstream IV jet or a CASA Maritime Patrol aircraft, including the correct height of each aircraft. It is constructed in 6mm plate steel, and when lit can reach 1,000°C; it's now nearly 400° inside." The Fire Training Facility, with its state-of-the-art fire equip- ment, is located in a remote area of the aerodrome, and is used to train personnel on all aspects of aviation fire fighting, such as crash-rescue drills and life-saving techniques. The Initial Aviation Fire Fighters course is conducted under the auspices and certification of the International Fire Training Centre (IFTC), based in the UK. The IFTC instructor/assessor for this exercise was Ricky Wilson, who is a regular visitor to Baldonnel. As the exercise started and flames billowed from the simulator, the crew of Rescue 9 got their call. (The Air Corps currently operates two Austrian-made Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 rapid-intervention fire ten- ders [RIFTs], designated Rescue 8 and Rescue 9.) The crew commander, Cpl Nigel O'Shaughnessy, and his team of five students were at the crash site in less than a minute. (The Air Corps Fire Service is required to meet a three-minute response time to any location in Baldonnel.) The crew quickly got the 737's engine fire under control and then hosed downed the exterior of the aircraft to enable a rescue. A short ladder was placed against the fuselage and BA (breathing apparatus) Team 1 entered the aircraft with smoke immediately billowing out of the door. Shortly after, the rear door of the aircraft was opened and the fire fighters sprayed water out of the exit with their hose. (Later, Cpl O'Shaughnessy explained: "Discharging a hose from inside an aircraft through an open door or window draws the smoke out." The simulator safety officer, Sgt John Domnican, added: "It won't take all the smoke out, but it will give the operators a better view inside the aircraft.") Over the radio we heard BA Team 1 saying they had found a casu- alty, and within seconds two crew members brought the casualty An Cosantóir September 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 |

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