Westchester County Airport ARFF

[firedude 985]

I was recently at the Westchester County Airport, and took some pictures of the ARFF truck, passing the terminal. The weather was not good in the beginging, but i did my best.

This, I believe is an Operations Truck but, it has red lights, so it may be used in emergency operations.

Edited July 28, 2009 by firedude

[99subi 121]

so who are the FF's? are they career ff's or staff that is trained as ff's

[IzzyEng4 427]

Not bad on the capture! Nice job!

[Guest WRVFD9000]

Nice pictures. How many pieces of apparatus does the airport have?

[Mofire24 27]

That first truck is Airport 11 one of the 3 crash trucks. They are operated by Airport Operations who are cross trained as firefighters for crash fire Rescue

[firedude 985]

Here is a dug up photos. This is truck 7. The 2nd of 3.

Edited July 28, 2009 by firedude

[Guest WRVFD9000]

That first truck is Airport 11 one of the 3 crash trucks. They are operated by Airport Operations who are cross trained as firefighters for crash fire Rescue

Thats interesting that they are Airport Operations personell who are also cross trained as crash rescue firefighters. If they are airport operations employees I take that they must carry around pagers to notify them of a incident unless they take turns on shifts. Who dispatches the ARFF personell?

Looks like Westchester County Airport has some nice modern crash rescue trucks.

Edited July 28, 2009 by WRVFD9000

[robert benz 344]

That first truck is Airport 11 one of the 3 crash trucks. They are operated by Airport Operations who are cross trained as firefighters for crash fire Rescue

cross trained by who? to what level? are they county employees? is it like the fire brigade for west county? never gave it any thought before now you have my interest, any help

[firedude 985]

cross trained by who? to what level? are they county employees? is it like the fire brigade for west county? never gave it any thought before now you have my interest, any help

The only county employes at the airport, I believe, are the county police officers, and maybe the airport manager. The airport is managed by a private company.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

The only county employes at the airport, I believe, are the county police officers, and maybe the airport manager. The airport is managed by a private company.

They are private employes for the company that has a long term contract to run the airport. At one pont it use to be Pam Am then it was Johnson Controls I don't know who has it now but they have/had a local? that was/is in the Fifth district.

[firedude 985]

They are private employes for the company that has a long term contract to run the airport. At one pont it use to be Pam Am then it was Johnson Controls I don't know who has it now but they have/had a local? that was/is in the Fifth district.

I believe it is AvPORTS. There is a link to their website on the Airport home web page. AvPORTS

[x129K 1,393]

Sort of like the Rural Metro mess?

[TL2L31 8]

Sort of like the Rural Metro mess?

Those are BAD words.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

When an alarm was recieved for the airport "back in th day" we ( Port Chester FD) whould respond to the building location, if it was for a call on the field we whould repond to airport ops that was next to the firehouse(hut) and the first Port Chester firefighter was to man the base station 46.26 at the ops desk that was a Port Chester radio KEF-213 then find out what was needed on the field There was no 60-control no Rye Brook and a county cop was pulled from wherever he was Hutch Parkway Harry one or two, also responding was Purchase and Armonk and we got the job done!

[aviator70 16]

Those are BAD words.

There is no "Dispatch" for the ARFF Team at HPN. I did this job for several years. When there is an issue, they are advised by the tower at HPN or by the ATC Center. It goes over the airport operations frequency. The trucks are always covered. The first truck must be on the scene within 3 minutes, the 2nd within 4 minutes. HPN is a quiet airport compared to others I worked at, where the trucks rolled a few times a week, under the same procedures HPN uses. The truck at HPN roll on an emergency 1 or 2 times a month, tops, and most of them are false alarrms and precautionary. They have a good Mutual Aid Plan. The ARFF team is governed more by Federal Aviation Regulations than any other. The specs can be found in FAR Part 139. The equipment requirements vary based on several factors, such as aircraft size and flight frequency. The airport ARFF guys do not run medical calls, structure fires or car fires, or anything like that. That is taken care of by the mutual aid plan and departments. They are not structure certified firefighters. The plan and concept work now, and always have. Ther eis no way that HPN could get support to pay a full time fire department or fire team based on the call levels at this airport.

[aviator70 16]

Actually, the dispatch system sort of works in revearse. When there is an issue, the ARFF team willl know first and advise 60 Control of their needs, if there are any. Most of the time the trucks roll 60 Control is not advised or aware. Depends on the circumstances of the issue. These trucks can be operated by 1 person, from within the vehicle. They have top-notch equipment.

Edited July 29, 2009 by aviator70

[Guest WRVFD9000]

There is no "Dispatch" for the ARFF Team at HPN. I did this job for several years. When there is an issue, they are advised by the tower at HPN or by the ATC Center. It goes over the airport operations frequency. The trucks are always covered. The first truck must be on the scene within 3 minutes, the 2nd within 4 minutes. HPN is a quiet airport compared to others I worked at, where the trucks rolled a few times a week, under the same procedures HPN uses. The truck at HPN roll on an emergency 1 or 2 times a month, tops, and most of them are false alarrms and precautionary. They have a good Mutual Aid Plan. The ARFF team is governed more by Federal Aviation Regulations than any other. The specs can be found in FAR Part 139. The equipment requirements vary based on several factors, such as aircraft size and flight frequency. The airport ARFF guys do not run medical calls, structure fires or car fires, or anything like that. That is taken care of by the mutual aid plan and departments. They are not structure certified firefighters. The plan and concept work now, and always have. Ther eis no way that HPN could get support to pay a full time fire department or fire team based on the call levels at this airport.

Thats interesting how the whole system works. I can't imagine that HPN is all that busy. What is the frequency for Airport Operations?

[mfc2257 464]

Thats interesting how the whole system works. I can't imagine that HPN is all that busy. What is the frequency for Airport Operations?

Dude don't assume that HPN isn't busy. They have a good deal of traffic that goes in and out.

[Guest WRVFD9000]

Yeah I know that they are really busy in terms of air traffic. I have been down to the airport before and have seen all the traffic going in and out. I should have clarified that the ARFF crew probably isn't all that busy.

[Steve 78]

What fire department covers Westchester County Airport?

Do they have any specialized equipment for the airport?

[Goose 188]

What fire department covers Westchester County Airport?

Do they have any specialized equipment for the airport?

I think Port Chester, Rye Brook, and Armonk. Maybe Harrison or Purchase too?

Edited July 29, 2009 by Goose

[JBE 328]

I forgot who covers it, but it was brought up before and the question was answered. I think Goose is correct that it's an automatic simultaneous dispatch of those departments. PC and RB at the very least.

Here's a couple of questions that I have. Did the county ever staff the ARFF?? Did they ever try to staff the ARFF, or did one of the local departments try to make an inroads to staffing the ARFF??

And finally, Who is gonna hook me up with a chance to get in there and photograph those rigs??

Edited July 29, 2009 by JBE

[flyboy14295 4]

Thats interesting how the whole system works. I can't imagine that HPN is all that busy. What is the frequency for Airport Operations?

I'm 95% sure its 122.95. Been a while since I was at the airport.

[Mofire24 27]

JBE

I think your best bet would be call airport ops to make that connection due to security reasons

[firedude 985]

I'm 95% sure its 122.95. Been a while since I was at the airport.

Yes it is 122.95 for Airport ops

[firedude 985]

I think Port Chester, Rye Brook, and Armonk. Maybe Harrison or Purchase too?

Port Chester, Rye Brook, Purchase and Armonk are called to the scene to any major emergency. I also think Greenwich, because they have been to a few drills at HPN. If needed, I believe, West Harrision, Harrison, North White Plains, Valhalla and Banksville go stand-by. Purchase FD covers all minor calls. HEMS and PCRRB*EMS both cover medical calls.

Edited July 29, 2009 by firedude

[hudson144 150]

Airport operations personel operate the CFR rigs,they are all trained as ARFF firefighters and respond as needed. The mutual aid plan is in place to assist in the event of an aircraft incident. From my experience teaching the ARFF class the airport ops people know the airfield and the aircraft better than anyone. They are required to train no different than structural firefighters. The ARFFrigs are fairly new and up to date and ready for responses daily. The whole concept there is to knock the fire down and create a rescue path for firefighters to gain access to the aircraft and for egress of victims. Water supply is set up for the mutual aid companys coming in as set up in the mutual aid plan.

Edited July 29, 2009 by hudson144

[JohnnyOV 2]

Yes it is 122.95 for Airport ops

CTAF (common traffic advisory frequency for when the tower is closed): 118.575

UNICOM (air to ground communication [fuel, food service ect.]): 122.95

WX ASOS (weather updates): PHONE 914-288-0216

WESTCHESTER GROUND: 121.825 284.65 [0600-2300]

WESTCHESTER TOWER: 118.575 284.65 [0600-2300]

NEW YORK APPROACH: 120.8(2300-0700) 126.4(0700-2300) 124.65

NEW YORK DEPARTURE: 120.55

CLEARANCE DELIVERY: 127.25

PRE-TAXI CLEARANCE: 127.25

BASIC RADAR: 120.55 120.8(2300-0700) 126.4(0700-2300)

D-ATIS: 133.8(914-948-0130)

EMERG: 121.5 243.0

courtesy www.airnav.com

[JBJ1202 27]

Hi,

Three separate fire districts run through Westchester County Airport property. Rye Brook/Port Chester, Armonk and Purchase. All three are the primary fire agencies for aircraft emergencies. All other fire or EMS incidents are only responded to by a single agency depending on which district is it in.

Greenwich, West Harrison, Chappaqua, and Banksville are the secondary fire agencies for major emergencies.

Armonk Fire, Port Chester/Rye/Rye Brook EMS, and Harrison EMS are the primary EMS agencies.

JBJ

Edited July 29, 2009 by JBJ1202

[Medic5274 45]

cross trained by who? to what level? are they county employees? is it like the fire brigade for west county? never gave it any thought before now you have my interest, any help

The crash rescue trucks are staffed by airport operations personnel. The rigs are often driven around the airport as the operations staff attend to their normal responsibilities. The airport has to meet FAA standards which I believe is getting water on a fire at any point of the airfiled within 90 seconds. They are dispatched by the airport on duty operations manager and the air traffic controllers in the tower. The tower I believe has a direct line to 60-Control which is used to request additional assistance from the nighboring departments. Additionally all of the rigs have radios for communication with 60-Control as well. Minimal staffing is one person per apparatus.

This type of response operation is in place all over the country. Most regional airports like Westchester don't have full time 24/7 ARFF personnel waiting for something to happen. The FAA sets the response equirements based on the number of flights and the size of the airplanes that utilize the airport.