Frankfurt’s Airport Fire Department has over 50 years of experience as a professional fire-fighting team. According to ICAO regulations, effective fire extinction and rescue intervention at any point of the runway system must begin within three minutes, preferably within two minutes, from the initial call. Several fire stations, high-quality equipment and experienced specialists ensure fast response times and compliance with these regulations.

In addition to aircraft fire fighting, the Airport Fire Department is also responsible for the fire protection of buildings, for fire prevention (fire protection systems, fire protection management system) and for fire protection services (Fire Training Center, inspection and maintenance of fire extinguishers and installed protection systems, aircraft rescue operations). Other duties include action in incidents involving hazardous substances and activities for the purpose of water protection.

The Airport Fire Department takes a wide range of technical and organizational precautions, such as conducting vehicle checks, ensuring separate storage of certain products, and storage facilities for products and water for extinguishing fire. If, despite all precautions, incidents involving hazardous substances do occur, the Airport Fire Department ensures that any seeping chemicals are bound, siphoned or pumped away and that the premises are cleaned and rooms ventilated. If persons are affected, they are decontaminated before being transferred to the care of the Fraport AG Medical Services or a hospital. State-of-the-art measuring instruments allow the Airport Fire Department to gauge the severity of a hazard within a brief period of time and to make sure that it is safe to give the all-clear signal for rooms and premises. Furthermore, a laboratory for chemical analyses is available under a service contract 24 hours a day to identify and determine hazardous substances.

Fire Training Center

The Fire Training Center (FTC) runs a mobile, propane-gas operated fire simulation system which permits both internal and external fire-fighting staff to conduct training without any danger. Thanks to state-of-the-art computer technology, fires can be simulated in a way that is not only realistic, but also environment-friendly. Compared to past fire drills, the only extinguishing agent used in exercises nowadays is water and virtually smoke-free burnable liquid gas instead of extremely sooty kerosene. Other extinguishing agents are simulated by the computer. The range of fire simulations comprises fires in aircraft kitchens, holds, the cockpit, engine and landing gear fires as well as surface fires. The system is modular in structure and therefore transportable. In addition to training fire-fighting staff to deal with aircraft fires and conduct rescue operations on aircraft, the Center also provides “simple” training courses for internal and external staff in the use of hand-held fire extinguishers.

Special vehicles

Minor incidents can often have major effects. A trail of oil, for instance, can cause accidents or environmental harm. To deal with such minor oil incidents, a specially fitted platform truck is provided, carrying all the necessary instruments for efficient help in a given situation. After use, the soiled equipment is placed in a metal box in the vehicle and subsequently cleaned and, if necessary, decontaminated.

Two water tank trailers are available for additional water supply in large-scale operations. Each tank trailer can hold 40,000 liters of water. In compliance with Regulations on Dangerous Goods in Road Transportation, the water tanks are made of V2A steel, so that they can also be used for transporting 40,000 liters of kerosene.

Runways no longer need to be foamed for emergency landings these days. Fire fighting vehicles designed for major airports can discharge extinguishing agents so fast and well-targeted that there is no longer any need for such preventative action.