Uwe Bork, Training Officer, Munich Airport Fire Brigade
Published: 02 April, 2009
What is the strangest incident you have responded to recently?
“Not long ago, a Singapore Airlines freighter due for Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing at Munich airport because the onboard detectors had gone off. When we arrived at the Boeing 747, there was nothing wrong and everyone on board was absolutely fine. We did not figure out what the cause of the alarm was until we contacted Singapore Airlines. Their first reaction to the incident was just: “Oh no, not another one!” It turned out that the jet was transporting a certain type of flower whose smell was so strong that it had set off the alarms. And this was definitely not the first time a Singapore Airlines plane had had to make an emergency landing for this reason.
How do you train on a daily basis?
On the south side of the airport we have our own fire training ground with a small fire simulator where we can simulate airplane fires with kerosene. In addition, we have a structural fire simulator for when we practise response to building fires. Our preparation team prepares the alarm exercises. The only thing that the fire brigade knows in advance is that there is going to be a test but no other information is disclosed. People have no idea what they are going to respond to but the preparation team tries to make it as realistic as possible so the alarm usually comes in via a pilot or from someone from a security unit.
How important is training for your brigade?
Safety is the main priority at any airport but because we are classed as ICAO Category 10 and are one of Europe’s largest airports, we take this very seriously. We organise practical exercises as well as theoretical sessions in classrooms every day for 42 members of our personnel who work according to a shift rota. The practical sessions are either carried out at the fire training ground or around the airport.
The training is meant to improve the firefighters’ response skills but they are also taught to deal with stress, legal issues, and they learn how to recognise aircraft. Every month the topics change and they all relate to practical experience.
What do you have on your wishlist for the future?
Every year we send firefighters to Serco in Teeside in the UK where they carry out large response exercises on the huge mock-up airplane they have there. We would like to have a similar-sized simulator on our own fire training ground so we can make our training sessions even more practical. This would also enable us to provide training sessions to other European Airport Fire Departments.
