The fire prevention service and the fire station at Dortmund Airport are manned by part-time and full-time firefighters.
The team of part-time firefighters, also known as LZ 30, has the same status as a voluntary fire service. It currently consists of 33 employees of the ground handling service who have FI training (basic training for the voluntary fire service). During operating hours, six employees hold positions in the fire service alongside their normal jobs as ground handlers. These employees work in the immediate vicinity of the eastern fire station. In the event of an alarm, they man their vehicles and are deployed by the officer in charge alongside their full-time colleagues.
Until 2007, the full-time firefighting team at the airport consisted of 10 people. Because of the increased number of passengers at the airport, the decision was made to recruit new employees to bring the team up to 21 members by 1 May 2007. Seven employees of the ground handling service underwent basic training (BI) at the Dortmund fire service to become fire officers. In addition, four firefighters from the Dortmund fire service were moved to the airport to join the team of fire officers. The team currently has 21 members who work in shifts during each 24-hour period. This means that five full-time firefighters are on duty at any one time. With the six part-time firefighters, this makes a total of 11 available during operating hours to maintain the necessary high safety standards at Dortmund Airport. Outside operating hours, the full-time firefighters are responsible only for the fire prevention systems in the buildings. During these periods, they carry out regular inspections of the systems.
This team structure has proved to function effectively. The ground handlers are fully familiar with the different aircraft, the local conditions and the technical equipment and facilities at the airport. The full-time firefighters have extensive firefighting experience and a variety of special training. This combination of professional firefighters, former ground handlers and the part-time firefighting team, combined with a high standard of training, ensures that the airport fire service is effective and efficient.