Alliance Airport Description

During the course of this semester, I was able to visit the Alliance Airport located in Fort Worth, TX.The airport is owned by the city of Fort Worth and serviced by a private company called Alliance Air Services ("Fort Worth Alliance Airport", n.d.). Alliance Airport serves some corporate aviation however, they support mostly cargo and military aviation. Alliance Airport has set up an agreement with Station 35 which is located on the airport premises that they will provide services to the airport however, they are also able to serve outside the airport since they are part of the Fort Worth Fire Department. During my visit with the firefighters of station 35, I was able to gather information on their approach to response planning, mutual
The fire department does not technically have to maintain any type of category, however, if the fire department wants to provide services to the Alliance airport they must have extra training and meet certain regulations. According to information on the website AirNav Alliance airport is considered as an index A ("AirNav: KAFW - Fort Worth Alliance Airport", 2017). The airport and the fire department decided to make a business decision and they maintain an FAA index of E instead of the required A. By maintaining an index of E the fire department always has 3 ARFF vehicles on hand at all times for emergencies. Station 35 has procedures that must be followed daily to ensure the reliability of their emergency equipment. They have checklist for items that must be checked daily and weekly as well as they make sure all discharge logs are kept up to date. Every Saturday the station does a big overhaul check on all
Alert 1 is when an aircraft is a minor difficulty and has a potential emergency (ex: oil leak, feathered prop). This type of alert will be on standby outside of Station 35.They will only go on scene if the alert is moved to an alert two by the commander. Alert 2 is when an aircraft approaching the airport is experiencing difficulty (ex: engine fire, no hydraulic pressure). The battalion chief, ARFF trucks, and side trucks will all show up to the emergency. Depending on where the aircraft is coming from the ARFF crew has certain standby positions that they must be at. For example, if the aircraft is landing on runway 16L/34R the first ARFF truck will be at Taxiway C, the second truck will be at Taxiway E and the third truck will be at Taxiway H. Once the aircraft has landed and passed the standby positions of the ARFF trucks they are to proceed behind the aircraft and remain with the aircraft until they are notified that the emergency has been cleared. Alert 3 is when an aircraft is involved in an accident near or within a 5-mile radius of the airport. This is considered a full alarm and all emergency personnel and ARFF trucks will arrive on seen as well as any other emergency personnel from other areas to help assist in the accident. During an alert 3, station 35 will communicate with the air traffic control center and if