AIRCRAFT EMERGENCY RESPONSE

As part of its comprehensive civil aviation regulatory safety program, Transport Canada has new requirements to provide effective aircraft firefighting services that are in keeping with traffic levels at Canadian airports. These requirements are the result of amendments to the Canadian Aviation Regulations and require a high level of firefighting standards, including on-site coverage, at Canada's busiest airports handling approximately 95 per cent of Canadian air travellers. The amendments essentially merge the existing two levels of aircraft rescue and firefighting services into one regulation.

The amendments reflect Transport Canada's ongoing commitment to aviation safety and the department's careful assessment of the most effective and efficient method of providing emergency response services at Canadian airports. The aircraft rescue and firefighting service, should an incident, accident or fire occur, would provide the travelling public with a high level of safety and protection, while conforming to stringent Canadian and international aviation standards and recommended practices.

The new requirements are enforced by Transport Canada safety inspectors and cover issues such as hours of operation, level of protection, extinguishing agents, equipment and firefighter training.

Some of the regulatory requirements covered by the existing regulations include:

• the minimum number of vehicles and quantities of extinguishing agents, emergency equipment and the qualifications and training of personnel that must be made available by the airport operator;
• a three-minute response time for first-response vehicle(s) responding to an emergency at applicable airports;
• 100 per cent coverage of scheduled commercial aircraft operations and a minimum 90 per cent coverage of scheduled air taxi and commuter traffic;
• the presence of qualified personnel, trained according to Transport Canada standards, who are able to deliver aircraft rescue and firefighting service at the airport during operating hours;
• the annual testing of emergency services to evaluate response times and confirm that the emergency services being provided adhere to the standards specified in the regulations; and
• a program to collect statistics on aircraft movements and type to confirm emergency services are commensurate with the size and frequency of aircraft using the airport.

To view the new requirements please visit Transport Canada's civil aviation website at www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/Regserv/Affairs/cars/Part3/Subpart3.htm.

October 2007