It is hoped that when an incident occurs at Freetown International Airport (FNA), there will be brave fire fighters speeding to the scene that are adequately trained, with the best equipment at their disposal and the knowledge of how to use it. The main objective of an aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) is to save lives in the event of an aircraft accident or incident. This includes the need to extinguish a fire that may occur immediately following an accident or incident, or during the rescue stage. Achieving this will depend on the training the personnel receives, the effectiveness of the equipment and the speed with which competent personnel and equipment can be put to use. To this end the Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA) has certified 98 fire fighters on Thursday 17 January, 2019 who went through a specialised training conducted for 16 weeks by the Ghana Airports Company Limited. In his welcome address during the certification ceremony held at its grounds in Lungi, the SLAA General Manager Ebenezer Macauley said that negotiating the proposal to get the Ghanaians to train the fire fighters started in 2015 but only came to fruition in 2018. The training he said is a specialised training approved by the international civil aviation organisation and that it cost the Authority about US$77,000 to get the training done. Without ICAO we want to certify this airport before the end of 2020, and that is why the refresher training. He thanked the National Fire Force for always supporting the Authority with equipment and noted that the procurement process is at an advanced stage for a new fire engine. Aerodromes Chief Fire Officer from the Ghana Airports Company Limited, Samuel Otoo said that the training has not been easy as personnel were seen carrying hoses during day and night. That, he said is the standard way of going through the basic training in 14 weeks but they went through it for 16 weeks. They carried equipment that they had probably not attempted to carry before and a lot has gone into the training to transform the fire fighting service of the airport. He expressed optimism when two personnel approached him when he arrived saying “Sir, we are fire fighters who will not hesitate to respond to any fire at the airport incidence in the airport” these words he said sounded encouraging to him. Movement around the airport he said constitute take-off and landing but cautioned that every movement is a potential accident, so for any potential movement they must make themselves available to contain whatever situation that may occur. “The regulator expect us to assess each runway end in two minutes and not more than three minutes, when the first test was done people did not see the essence of it but it was to ascertain how fast we can be, to respond to emergencies” Otoo said. A lot of airport movement he said is concentrated on one side of the airport where take-off and landing happens, so the potential for an accident to happen is on that side rather than the other side. As a result, when an aircraft is landing, he said that they are the eyes of the operational man and that they must ensure that once the tower alerts them that there is a movement, and they know the runway the airline is using, they should make sure they are alert until the aircraft touches down and goes back. “The personnel went through interior, external and confined space fire fighting training, primary airport and aircraft familiarisation education, and most of them excelled both in theory and practical” he said. SLAA Board of Directors Chairman, Edward L. Williams said that because the industry is very dynamic it needed to be upgraded from time to time in order to meet the challenges ahead. Whilst stressing on the relevance of the fire fighting sector he emphasised that it is very important in the operations of the airport and that led to the recruitment of an expert in first aid emergency preparedness. He cautioned that the sector needs able bodied men and women who are educated and not old or uneducated people. “When we were doing recruitment people were saying take me to the fire department, because they think that it did not need educated people, we need more educated people here than any other department” he said. He promised the personnel that they will ensure that they make available all what they require doing their job effectively with professionalism and warned that promotion will be based on performance. Giving his keynote address, Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation Sadique Sillah said that the training is an international benchmark notwithstanding the size of the country’s airport. He warned the personnel that they should not think that because they are part of the force they should allow anyone to enter the airport just like that, “we are bounded by international rules, as today we have all sorts of threats, because around this vicinity one mistake will cost the whole nation extremely, so there is no room for any mistake” he said. He said that even though other speakers are saying they are being trained but that they do not want them to go into action, he wants them to go into limited action as their role is not only limited to aircrafts that are landing which might cause fire. “What about you allowing someone to access this compound smoke and drop their cigarette butt, some will not even switch off their appliance in their offices, some cables are left unattended, these are your job, so I urge you to inspect properly” he said. Deputy Minister Sillah encouraged them to take pride in their profession and to work diligently and leave the politics to the politicians. Other speakers were, RSLAF Group Captain Hassan Coomber, Commander Air Wing, Kugbei Tucker, Station manager Civil Aviation Authority and the program was chaired by the Deputy General Manager J. D. A. Massaquoi. A fire simulation exercise by Rescue Fire Fighters climaxed the event coupled with presentation of certificates climaxed the ceremony.
By Zainab Iyamide Joaque
Friday January 18, 2019.