Lydd puts fire facility to the test

The fire and rescue team at London Ashford Airport (Lydd), Romney Marsh, Kent put its new fire training facility through its paces last month during a dramatic ‘aircraft’ blaze.

Wearing full breathing apparatus, crew members faced intense heat as they tackled a simulated wing, wheel and engine fire head-on.

Paul Fisher, LAA’s Senior Airport Fire Officer, said: “This modern, environmentally friendly training facility enables us to create a very realistic, intense fuel fire scenario using carefully controlled liquid petroleum gas. We’ve also converted two giant steel storage containers into aircraft fuselage simulators, which can be filled with smoke to create zero visibility search conditions during breathing apparatus training.” 

The airport continues to expand and upgrade its fire and rescue services as part of an on-going programme of redevelopment. LAA has increased its fire crew steadily from four to 11 full-time CAA certified firefighters in the past two years and invested in the latest breathing apparatus, high-specification firefighting uniforms, and ultra-lightweight air cylinders.