Airport Firefighting Services
Since 1 January 2024, a full-time airport fire brigade has been providing fire protection at Dortmund Airport, forming fire station 7.
As a result of the service agreement between Dortmund Airport and the City of Dortmund, which was signed in 2020, the airport fire brigade forms part of the fire brigade of the City of Dortmund. Thus, a public fire brigade is responsible for fire protection at Dortmund airport, which is a unique situation in Germany and throughout Europe.
The airport fire brigade at Dortmund Airport currently consists of a total of 50 employees. The management team consists of three officers on day duty: The fire station manager and two technical coordinators who take care of the special concerns and requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The operational security team is made up of 47 employees, divided into two security departments. They cover 9 operational functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The two watch departments are each managed by two watch department heads and thus correspond to the general organisational structure of a fire station of the municipal fire brigade.
The duty shifts are carried out jointly at the fire station of the airport fire brigade in the security area of the airport. Outside of operations, they maintain their equipment in the work shift, take care of procurements and the general administration of the airport fire brigade. In addition to daily training, duty sports and operations, they cater for themselves and are on call around the clock.
In addition to working at the airport, all members of staff also regularly work shifts at fire station 3 of the municipal fire brigade. In return, staff members from there transfer to Dortmund Airport. Through the constant exchange of personnel and continuous training, the prescribed and staffing of the airport fire brigade is always guaranteed.
The area of responsibility of the airport fire brigade covers the entire grounds of Dortmund Airport and its buildings. The main task is to ensure aircraft fire protection in accordance with the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
EASA defines the requirements for stationed fire brigades at civil airports throughout Europe. Their operations typically include aircraft firefighting and aircraft recovery, among other things. The responsibility of fire station 7 does not stop at the fence or boundary of the property: The alarm response area also includes 1,000 metres in front of and behind the threshold of the runway.
The airport fire brigade's area of responsibility also includes the terminal, the multi-storey car parks and the administrative buildings of the airport. In the event of an alarm, fire station 7 investigates the scene of the incident and initiates immediate measures until the follow-up forces of the municipal fire brigade arrive.
Fire protectionThe airport fire brigade also provides advice on preventive fire protection at the airport. The fire brigade supervises remodelling measures from planning to completion. It issues welding permits to external companies and organises fire watches if necessary. Some technical systems, such as sprinkler systems and smoke extraction systems, are also available for inspection at night, as these cannot be carried out during the airport's operating hours. In addition, all airport employees receive regular fire safety training from the airport fire service. This includes training on how to use fire extinguishers and other important fire safety topics.
Bird scaringBird control is an atypical area of responsibility for the fire service. Here, the airport fire service supports the airport's landscape gardeners in preventing bird strikes (bird control). Before take-offs and landings at the airport or at the request of the pilots, the tower or apron control, individual birds or entire flocks of birds must be driven away from the runway area so that there is no disruption to flight operations or a bird strike, i.e. an accident between a bird and an aircraft.
Rescue serviceWith more than 2 million departing and arriving passengers a year, medical emergencies occur regularly. The airport fire service has a so-called first responder unit, the ‘Medi-PKW’, to provide initial medical care to passengers, visitors and employees. The medi-van is equipped like a regular ambulance and is manned by two members of the airport fire service with appropriate medical qualifications. Rescue resources from the municipal rescue service are alerted in parallel for these operations. As soon as the situation allows, the fire brigade team is relieved by the ambulance service, which then takes over the further treatment and (if necessary) transport of the patient to hospital.
General basic and advanced training usually takes place at the fire station.
A special feature is the recurring real fire training in the field of aircraft fire fighting. Such specialised training can be undertaken, for example, at the International Fire Training Centre in Teesside in the north-east of England. During the training, which lasts several days, the tactical procedure for rescuing people in air vehicles, vehicle positioning and jet pipe training are practised under conditions that approximate real situations.
The employees are also trained in the recovery of aircraft involved in accidents. To this end, they regularly attend training courses together with other airport locations.
In the event of an incident at the site, the airport fire service managers support the Federal Centre for Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) in Braunschweig as ‘airport officers’.
Vehicle fleetThe EASA fire brigade for fighting aircraft fires consists of a command vehicle, two airfield fire-fighting vehicles and an auxiliary fire-fighting vehicle. The fire brigade is four vehicles strong.
In order to always remain operational even in the event of technical failures and repairs to an airfield fire engine, the airport fire brigade fleet includes a total of three airfield fire engines.