Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Morris Richardson II / The Detroit News Jason Reeves keeps an eye on the turret, which discharges water. In 2004, crews were alerted to 185 runway incidents.

Metro Airport firefighters prepare for rare emergency

Malfunctioning lights or hint of smoke in aircraft sends the crews to the rescue.

By Joel J. Smith / The Detroit News

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ROMULUS -- It's an unsettling sight for passengers landing at Detroit Metro Airport: Fire trucks and ambulances, lights flashing, racing toward the runway.

Last year, airport emergency crews scrambled out to meet arriving planes well over 100 times.

The number of runs that turned out to be emergencies? Zero.

Such is the life of the 57 members of the Detroit Metro Airport fire/rescue service, who stand ready to deal with catastrophes that may never happen.

"We end up going to the runways on the average of about once every other day," said Craig Carnell, the fire chief at Metro Airport. "Probably 199 out of 200 times, we're not needed. But that's what we do."

As year after year passes without major problems, the airport fire and rescue department can feel a little like the Maytag repairman. But Carnell said the memory of two commercial airplane crashes at Metro in 1987 and a third one in 1990 prevents any complacency. The crashes killed 175 people and were the last fatal airline accidents at Metro.

"We're there ready to face any challenge if we're needed," Carnell said.

The department handles calls at both Metro Airport and county-owned Willow Run Airport, about five miles west of Metro.

In 2004, fire department crews were alerted to 185 runway incidents with only two actual problems, both at Willow Run.

The two cases involved private planes with landing gear problems. No one was hurt, and the emergency crews weren't needed.

The vast majority of local emergency runs are at Metro, where 522,531 airplanes took off and landed in 2004 compared to 113,938 at Willow Run.

Chris Klinke, a former financial adviser from Royal Oak, has seen firsthand how quickly airport crews respond at the first hint of a problem.

Klinke, 35, said he was flying into Denver several years ago when his plane was met by numerous fire trucks. None of the passengers was aware of what was going on until the plane came to a stop at the end of the runway.

"You see those fire trucks, and you start wondering what's going on," Klinke said. "It does freak you out a little bit."

Passengers eventually were told the flight crew suspected a hydraulic problem could have disabled the airplane's brakes. It turned out the emergency crews weren't needed.

Carnell said most runway deployments involve malfunctioning instrument lights or someone reporting that they smell smoke in the aircraft. The pilots notify the control tower, which alerts the fire department.

In 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered Metro Airport to keep a driver behind the wheel of an aircraft fire and rescue truck at all times after the airport's emergency crews failed three tests that year.

The problem was quickly corrected by Metro officials after dispatching procedures were changed.

All but four of the 57 firefighters at Metro Detroit are certified paramedics. Besides being specially trained to respond to airplane crashes, they handle fire and medical emergency runs on the airport grounds at both county airports.

This includes responding to automobile accidents and medical emergencies in the terminals.

In 2004, the department had a budget of $5.3 million. It's comparable in size to the Royal Oak Fire Department, which has 65 full-time firefighters, a budget of $6.5 million and made 5,113 runs last year.

Carnell said his firefighters have had special training to deal with airline crashes with huge amounts of aviation fuel.

The department has equipment to handle those crashes, including trucks that carry water and foam.

One truck has an aerial spout with a piercing tip to puncture a hole in a burning plane so that water or foam can be pumped into the cabin.

"Nobody else is as ready as we are for a major incident," Carnell said.

"If it has to happen, this is a place for it."

The airlines say it's important to know emergency crews are available if a problem arises. They all have policies for pilots to notify air traffic controllers if they suspect any malfunction.

Northwest Airlines, the biggest carrier at Detroit Metro, had about 400,000 takeoffs and landings in 2004, about 75 percent of the operations at the airport.

"The safety and security of our customers is our paramount concern," said Tim Rainey, Northwest's senior vice president of flight operations and system operations control. "During the course of operating a daily schedule ... of departures from Detroit, out of an abundance of caution, from time to time our pilots call upon the fire department to stand by when a flight develops an irregular condition,"

The requests are almost always precautionary, Rainey said.

Carnell and others say they understand why some might get upset at the sight of flashing emergency lights along a runway.

But Michael Conway, a Metro Airport spokesman, said passengers should feel safer when they see the emergency trucks.

"When people see emergency flashers out at the runways, they shouldn't be concerned, but reassured that airports have firefighting and paramedic professionals poised to respond on a moment's notice," Conway said.

You can reach Joel J. Smith at (313) 222-2556 or jsmith@detnews.com.