You're in Good Hands with HIA's ARFF

Have you sat in a plane on the tarmac at Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) and witnessed a large bright green truck driving by you? “What the heck was that,” you may ask your neighbor. What you saw was one of the fire fighting vehicles in the HIA Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) department. There are seven vehicles in the total fleet; three frontline fire fighting vehicles, a rescue truck, a medical quick response unit, an attack vehicle, and a rescue boat. Each piece of equipment in the fleet, when not in active use, is stored at HIA’s on site fire house/station.

Along with housing the vehicles, the fire house is home to 14 full time fire fighters when they are on duty. The team includes a chief and four platoons comprised of a captain and two firefighters. There is one firefighter which floats from shift to shift filling in for fire fighters on vacation. The majority of the guys that make up the team have prior military and aircraft rescue backgrounds. Each of them is trained in fire fighting, emergency medical treatment, hazardous materials, and basic water rescue. The HIA ARFF department is one of 37 fire departments in the state that has received recognition for 100% participation in the Pennsylvania Fire Service Certification program with personnel certified in the following specialties: airport fire fighter, hazardous materials responder, fire inspector, fire instructor, and fire officer. There are no buts about it, these guys know what they’re doing!

The platoons start each day the same way, with role call and updates with the chief followed by equipment and vehicle checks. They pay special attention to all of the details of the equipment and vehicles they use in a given day to insure everything is operational, clean, and ready to respond when needed. After their checks the platoon on duty will complete any necessary training for the day, and then head off for fire inspections, verification of the fire suppression equipment in the terminal, perimeter, fuel farm and fuel equipment checks. Platoons also respond to medical calls and standbys throughout their day. A standby is when a ARFF vehicle is needed on site while a plane is being refueled with passengers are on board the aircraft.

The fire fighters have a lot of responsibilities when they are on duty and these responsibilities require a number of specializations to be held by the platoons. They are qualified in structural and aircraft rescue fire fighting, medical emergencies, HAZMAT, and water rescue. While these duties are similar to that of a municipal fire fighter, the environments in which these duties are performed vary. A municipal fire fighter responds to emergencies in the community, whereas the ARFF platoons work to prevent unique hazards in a customer-oriented environment. Their's is a very centralized operation with a focus on prevention and inspections.

So, the next time you’re sitting on the plane waiting to take-off and a large green vehicle crosses your path remember that Chief Frank Wirth promises that ‘you are in good hands’ with the HIA ARFF. He oversees a team of thirteen fire fighters who focus on your safety, fire and incident prevention and teamwork. Chief Wirth, a life-long fire fighter, emphasizes that the ARFF department is a team of responsible fire fighters who are well trained and work well together.

Have you seen any of these fire fighting vehicles during your trips to/from HIA? Did you tour a fire house/station as a kid? What impressed you the most about the experience?