TRAINING AT THE Dublin Airport Authority Fire Station is constant, with firefighters obliged to follow a strict programme to prepare them for any incident that might happen in the airport zone.

While crashes and fires on the runway are (thankfully) very rare at Dublin Airport, it’s important for the fire service to know what to do in the event of a serious blaze on any of the different types of aircraft that fly in and out.

In order to do this, the fire station has a simulator that has parts of several types of aircraft on it as well as a cabin that is split up into different sections representing planes with three seats and two seats on each side as well as a cargo section.

Dublin Airport firefighter Joe Billings introduced TheJournal.ie to the simulator, which is used by the crews about once a month for practice. This time it’s smoke and fire training:

As Billings explained, the simulator burns two types of fuel, creating different situations for the crews to work through. Inside the simulator, a smoke machine is used to replicate the environment inside an aircraft that is or has been on fire.

During this training session, the crew conducts a search of the smoke-filled aircraft. Don’t worry, the smoke is non-toxic so no TheJournal.ie authors were harmed in the making of this video:

Finally, the crew comes back together to discuss the training sequence including their speed, positioning, hose deployment and search methods.

Billings explains how using the simulator helps to prepare firefighters for “how it feels to be in such proximity to such a big piece of equipment that is on fire and burning”.

If you missed it yesterday, check out our ‘Day in the life of the DAA Fire Service‘ video feature.