June 2, 2008

Posted By PETE LUCAROTTI - Herald-Tribune staff

The Grande Prairie Regional Airport has received a boost to its fire and rescue services.

As of Sunday, the airport began using a 2008 Rosenbauer ARFF (Airport Rescue and Firefighting) vehicle to respond to on-site emergencies.

“The vehicle is in the airport and the staff are just going through their final paces prior to June 1, so it’s being used for what we call water runs for practising filling and putting the truck through its paces to make sure everything works on it,” said Doug Mark, manager of operations at the Grande Prairie Airport.

The ARFF is a welcome addition to the airport, which has operated without an onsite emergency vehicle since Transport Canada closed the previous fire and rescue service in early 1997.

“Safety has always been a top priority for the Grande Prairie Airport and this increased service enhances our passengers’ safety,” said Brian Grant, CEO of the Grande Prairie Airport in a press release.

Since the original fire and rescue service was closed the airport has depended on the local fire department to provide emergency support.

Even with the city providing emergency services to the airport, Mark says the arrival of the vehicle to Grande Prairie has been a long time coming.

“The process has been in place as the truck was a little over a year just being built along with the maintenance garage so it’s been an ongoing blended funding as we move along through the process,” he said.

The airport received over $2 million through the government’s Airport Capital Assistance Program to purchase the vehicle and to construct a building to house it in.

Eleven airport employees have gone through training to use the vehicle, which features water, foam, and dry chemical to dose fires through roof-mounted and front-mounted turrets.

Article ID# 1054494