IAFPA IAFSSG INTERNATIONAL ARFF CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Transcription

1 IAFPA IAFSSG INTERNATIONAL ARFF CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION 2014 ARFF VISION 2020 AND THE CHALLENGES AHEAD June 2014 Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore, India International Aviation Fire Protection Association (IAFPA) and Indian Aviation Fire Safety Specialists Group (IAFSSG) conducted its first International ARFF Conference and Exhibition at Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore on 26 & 27 Jun The theme of the conference was ARFF VISION 2020 AND THE CHALLENGES AHEAD. The event was supported by Airports Authority of India, Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore and other major airports in India. The conference aimed the participation of ARFF professionals from India and abroad and to serve as a platform for delegates to leverage on networking opportunities in fostering future partnerships. More than 250 delegates from 21 countries participated in the event and it was of immense learning experience and exposure to latest technologies in ARFF. Shri. H.R. Bhardwaj Honourable Governor of Karnataka, Shri. Siddaramaiah Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Ms. Vasundhara Raje Honourable Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri. Oommen Chandy Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. Alok Sinha IAS Chairman AAI, Shri. GV Sanjay Reddy Managing Director of Bangalore International Airport Ltd, Shri. Hari K Marar President Airport Operations Bangalore International Airport Ltd, Shri. GK Chaukiyal Member (Operations) AAI, Mr. S Rajeja Member (Planning) AAI, Shri V Somasundaram Member (Air Navigation Services), Shri. GB Menon IAFSSG Patron & Fire Adviser Govt. of India (Retd), Shri. Cletus M John Packiam IAFPA Chairman and Shri. Subhash Kumar IAFSSG Chairman & GM (FS) AAI gave encouraging messages which were published in Conference Souvenir. Shri. G.M. Siddeshwara Honourable Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Govt. of India confirmed his presence as Chief Guest for the event and Shri. Hari K Marar as Guest of Honour. However, due to an urgent cabinet meeting at New Delhi on 25 Jun 14, the Minister personally communicated his inability to attend the conference and conveyed his best wishes. The event was inaugurated by Mr. Hari K Marar, President Operations, Kempegowda International Airport Bangalore by lighting of traditional lamp with invocation of God. While addressing the audience, Mr. Marar highlighted that this event should set the tone for sharing knowledge amongst airport fire personnel. He further informed that India is currently the 9th largest aviation market handling 121 million domestic and 41 million international passengers with more than 85 international airlines operating to India and 5 Indian carriers connecting over 40 countries. The Indian airport system is poised to handle 336 million domestic and 85 million international

2 passengers by 2020, making India the third largest aviation market in the world. He expressed that the conference will build more added values to ARFF in the country. Mr. Cletus Packiam, Chairman IAFPA, Mr. Subhash Kumar, Chairman IAFSSG and Mr. P.S Ajith Kumar, Secretary IAFSSG and Chief Conference Coordinator shared dais with Mr. Marar. Mr. Cletus in his welcome address mentioned that, the event is the biggest conference IAFPA conducted so far. Mr. G.B. Menon, Patron and founder member IAFSSG and Fire Advisor (Retd), Govt. of India was bestowed with IAFPA Life Time Achievement Award by Mr. Cletus Packiam.

3 As part of the conference, International Airports Fire Chief Workshop was organised at Hotel Taj West End, Bangalore on 25 Jun 14. Mr. Cletus Packiam and Mr. Subhash Kumar jointly chaired the workshop. Sixteen Fire Chief s from India and abroad attended the workshop. Various challenges and operational issues faced by ARFF Units were discussed and deliberated during the workshop. Mr. Cletus consolidated the discussed points for bringing to the attention of ICAO Rescue and Fire Fighting Working Group. During the workshop Mr. Domenico Corti from M/s. MAGIRUS, Italy presented a technical paper Magirus 150 years history & New Generation of High-Performance ARFF. Mr. Colin Simpson also gave a presentation about Software Utility in Airport Fire Prevention. A welcome cock tail dinner was given to all participants at the same venue after the workshop.

4 The exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. Marar by cutting the ribbon. Major Air Crash Fire Tender manufacturers and fire & life safety equipment manufacturers exhibited their products and supported the event. The technical session of the conference commenced thereafter had eminent speakers from around the globe, made this conference focused more on the growth, challenges ahead, problem solving and clarifying various operational issues on ARFF. There were a total of 19 speakers covering six sessions as follows: Session 1 Complying with International Standards for Fire Safety ARFF : Challenges Strategies Implementation Ms. Peggy Hinkel, Managing Director, Strategic Fire Solutions, Germany Ms. Peggy Hinkel, in her presentation focused on the ARFF challenges and implementation strategies for a well prepared ARFF services as airports are globally evolving into Airport Cities pulsating with major development and expansion projects. She opined that airports are becoming the Market Places of today s Economy becoming job generators and the business place of many players. She also highlighted that the rapid growth and expansion of airports is a positive reflection towards the Globalization Move, however the move into the global future and the rapid expansion and development of our airports present special and increased challenges on airports fire and emergency services.

5 Challenges of Complying with ICAO Annexure-14, Vol-1 Specifications Mr. Arun Rao, Former Chief, Aerodrome & Ground Aids Section, ANB ICAO Montreal Mr. Arun Rao mentioned that safety of the travelling public is the ultimate goal and the roles and responsibilities of both the safety regulator and the operator in safety assurance cannot be overemphasized. He opined the need to highlight the responsibilities, accountabilities and obligations of the aviation personnel charged with the task of ensuring safety of the end users. He stressed the need to think out of the box to device new areas of inspection and other checks to ensure a very high-level of emergency response efficiency.

6 Session 2 Implementation of SMS and Business Continuity Plans SMS Implementation A Managers Perspective on Safety: Global Lessons, Local Applications Mr. Robey Lal, Advisor Airport Planning, ICT, New Delhi and Former Member Ops (AAI) Mr. Robey Lal discussed some lessons learned in a career having dealt with varied emergencies, which include the aftermath of the mid-air collision over Charkhi-Dadri, managing an airport in the aftermath of a major political assassination and terminal fires etc. He opined that lessons from events, where safety was compromised, can be learnt from events within the aviation industry and occurrences in other transportation modes, globally. Invariably, a viable response in an emergency requires considerable human intervention, from which an effective manager learns to go beyond dealing with the technicalities and learns from human reactions. Implementation of SMS at Bangalore Airport Mr. Chidambararaman R, AGM, Aviation Safety Bangalore International Airport Mr. Chidambararaman in his presentation broadly covered Introduction to Safety Management System (SMS), ICAO SMS fundamentals, Global Safety Scenario, SMS implementation & functioning at Bangalore International Airport, Safety Performance Management and Challenges in implementing Safety Management System at an airport.

7 Sponsors Technical Presentation by Mr. Unnikrishnan Nair, CEO Anlon IPS for M/s. Rosenbauer International AG,Austria Mr. Unnikrishnan presented different products of M/s. Rosenbauer and its advantages and impressed the audience with his ease at the subject with momentarily interactions. Session 3 Safety of our Airside Operations Protecting our Airports Fuel Farms Dr. Niall Ramsden, Director, Resource Protection International, UK Dr. Nial Ramsden discussed about potential threats of fuel farms. Around the World there have been fire incidents at Fuel Farms that have had major business and public image consequences on airports due to lack of effective response. He mentioned that, it is often thought that, because of their professionalism, ready availability and special foam application equipment, Airport Fire and Rescue Services are fully resourced to respond to any incident at the fuel farm. He stressed that the resources required and application methods for tank fires are significantly different and there have been several cases where tank fires have been attacked unsuccessfully with Airport Fire Vehicles. He brought out, thorough review of case histories, potential scenarios and discussions of responsibilities and foam application techniques provide information to allow responders to review options and make informed choices based on the facility specific risk. Aviation Fire Fighting Requirements for the New Large Aircraft Mr. Yazid Bin Ismail, Standards Inspector, Changi Airport Group Mr. Yazid brought out the unique challenges an ARFF unit is facing for safe and efficient passenger evacuation from New Large Aircrafts (NLA) such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing To ensure Rescue and Fire Fighting Services are able to manage any incident involving NLAs safely and effectively, he narrated the need to ensure that emergency/operational plans, facilities, resources, equipment and staff are ready before the arrival of the NLA and this requires extensive planning and preparation. In his topic, he also conveyed what are some of the key concerns and other serious considerations affecting RFFS, and what we can do to prepare ourselves to be sufficiently ready in the event that we are required to respond to such scenario. Fire Protection Systems for Airport Terminals Mr. Selvaraj A, AGM, ARFF, Bangalore International Airport Mr. Selvaraj s presentation briefly described the aspects of the fire protection for the Terminal Buildings, from design as well as operational considerations. He looked at a three dimensional perspective of a building designer, fire and life safety system designer and that of a fire fighter. He opined that the designs of fire protection systems for terminal buildings have some major challenges. Unlike other buildings, airport buildings cannot be standardized and most of them will have a very expressive architectural features and large dimensions. Medical Response in an MCI : Are We Prepared Dr. Aruna, MD PhD, Professor, HOD Emergency Medicine, MS Ramaiah Hospital, Bangalore Through her presentation, Dr. Aruna narrated about transition from the current standard of care to sufficient care/treatment during Mass Casualty Incident and what are the challenges of MCI in aircraft accidents. An airport accident is any occasion or instance, natural or man-made that warrants action to save lives and protect public health. It is essential to prepare for emergencies that face airports in order to be able to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively. While she agrees that every contingency cannot be

8 anticipated and prepared for, but a strong emergency preparedness program can assist in limiting the negative impact of these events, including liability and other post-emergency issues. Every ARFF Should have a Snozzle Changing Paradigms in Aircraft Fire Fighting Mr. Jack Bermingham, Technical Manager, Ms. Oshkosh (Sponsors Technical Presentation) Mr. Jack mentioned that ARFF industry has observed increasing challenges with the introduction of new aircraft construction materials and an increase in aircraft sizes. He stressed the need to have the Air crash fire tender with snozzle which makes airport better prepared for every potential emergency. The informed that Oshkosh Snozzle allows fire fighters to penetrate the fuselage skin, deliver quad-agent (ultra high pressure fire suppression) with accuracy and with precision to all potential fire areas on the aircraft and creates more tactical options for an ARFF vehicle s structural capabilities. Session 4 New Emerging Technologies for the ARFF Industry Technological Advances in ARFF Training Mr. Brian Keith McKinney, Fire Chief, Dallas Fort worth Airport, USA Mr. Brian through his presentation took the audience from past to future, he mentioned how ARFF can best use the technological advantage towards meeting its training challenges. He brought out that while other industries were moving from textbooks to e-books, from marker boards to Smart Boards, and from paper to the computer, the ARFF training industry remained widely untouched by technology. Students began to realize that ARFF instruction needed new, advanced tools to create a classroom experience that was immersive and engaging. New Foams, ICAO Foam Test and CAFS for future ARFF Mr. Kim Thorbjorn Olsen, Asst. Fire Chief, Copenhagen Airport, Denmark Mr. Kim s paper explored and set focus on the developments and potential use of CAFS in future ARFF, within the Aviation Industry. His also talked about new ICAO foam testing methods, for Level A, B and C foam. He mentioned that the new Level C foam can and will be the future foam, which will insure an efficient knockdown in an aviation fuel spill fire. Session 5 ARFF Training Challenges and Infrastructure Requirements Is Virtual Reality Simulation the Solution for Complete ARFF Training? Mr. Marco van Wijngaarden, BSc MEM, President ETC Simulation/ADMS, USA Mr. Marco focused on the potential for training ARFF vehicle crews using different types of simulators. He further discussed of live training and virtual simulation training highlighting areas where simulation training should be incorporated. He has provided insight into the technology available today and shown various virtual reality ARFF simulators along with practical examples of their successful application. Test Protocol for Testing of Airport Crash Tenders Mr. Thomas Hillenbrand, Principle Member of NFPA Technical Committees His presentation talked about the latest revisions in the NFPA standard He also mentioned about developing and reviewing UL SOPs, test procedures and data sheets for testing, inspection, and certification of Fire Department aerial devices, pumpers, and aircraft rescue firefighting (ARFF) vehicles, ambulances, and ground ladders. Singapore Aviation Academy Presentation Mr. Rocky Fangerises Principal instructor SAA

9 Mr. Rocky Fangerises covered different training programme offered by Singapore Aviation Academy and School of Airport Emergency Services. He explained with examples, how first hand experiences in handling emergencies using advanced fire training simulators can help. An Approach to ARFF Training in Emerging and Developing Economies Prof. Dieter Schmidt, International Fire Training Consultant, Germany (Sponsors Technical Presentation by Ms. Drager) Prof Schmidt through his presentation concerned about the mindset towards safety: here the ARFF Service, of the Regulator, the Operator and the respective safety branches/departments involved, at least conducive enough to ensure the establishment of an efficient and competent ARFF Service? He narrated about the pitfalls and the must-do s on the way to a formation and the constant development of an airport fire service, serving the travellers in an emerging and developing economy environment? Session 6 Learning Through Case Studies Implementing Lessons Learned from Case Studies into Emergency and Training Programs Mr. Kim Thorbjorn Olsen, Asst. Fire Chief, Copenhagen Airport, Denmark His paper set focus on the importance of learning from case studies from aircraft accidents. Learning from case studies from incidents and aircraft accidents can be an important tool that makes an airport s worstcase scenario emergency plan work. He illustrated that through collaboration and exchange of knowledge and experience, we can learn from each other. Case studies are an excellent way to improve preparedness, training and tactical approach. He mentioned that we have limitations on the resource in the first response and that the success and performance of the first attack is essential for the outcome. He stressed that preparedness is a must and something we at times have to optimize to insure aviation safety in the future. Mangalore Air Crash Disaster Mr. Dhananjay Shanbhag, Fire Chief, Mangalore Airport Mr. Shanbhag who was the on-scene commander of Boeing aircraft crash at Mangalore airport described about the terrain difficulties he and his team faced during the firefighting and rescue operations. He mentioned that despite the limitation of a table top Airport and very difficult terrain conditions, the fire was fought by the fire fighters. His presentation included Disaster Scenario, Fire Fighting at difficult Terrain and Post Accident Scenario District Disaster Management Life Safety requirement for Airports and a Case Study Mr. Sharad Yadav, Director Sales Honeywell Life Safety (Sponsors Technical Presentation by Ms. Honeywell Life Safety) Mr. Sharad presented different products of M/s Honeywell Life Safety. He mentioned that life & property safety is one of the major concerns of all the airports. He clarified that last few fire incidences in big infrastructure projects including Metro Rail & Airports states that our National standard, codes & practices are not sufficient to meet the requirement of fire safety in buildings of high occupancy & magnitude and advised to use the international standards, codes and best practices to ensure the life & property safety of the premises.

10 There were four panel discussions between the technical session chaired by Mr. Cletus Packiam, Mr. Colin Simpson and Mr. Yazid Ismail. Delegates were seen competing each other raising various issues faced at their organization and their concerns were answered by the eminent speakers in a professional manner. Bangalore International hosted the evening with a cocktail gala dinner at the venue to induce a relaxed mood to attending delegates. Professional Indian cultural artists from M/s Elements of Art & Heritage Academy revealed the vast and rich world of Indian heritage augmenting the talent of earthly expressions and heavenly experiences through the highly bonafide art form Natya (dance). The artists displayed a unique blend of Classical Dance, Contemporary, Indian Folk Dance and Kalaripayattu (Traditional Martial Art from Kerala, South India). This first of its kind culmination took the global audience to different world of grace, beauty and sticking power in one stage. In addition to dance performance, foot thumping live English songs sung by famous Indian artists enthralled the audience throughout the evening. Airports Authority of India, M/s Rosenbauer AG, M/s Oshkosh Corporation, M/s. Honeywel, M/s Draeger, M/s. MAGIRUS, M/s. SIDES, M/s. ETC ADMS, M/s. Holematro, M/s. Resquetech, M/s. Ceasefire, M/s. Bauer, M/s. UL and IFE India supported the event as Platinum, Gold and Silver sponsors. Mr. Cletus Packiam honored all sponsors and by giving mementos.

11 Valedictory function followed on completion of Technical Session on 27 Jun 14. Mr. K.K. Pradeep, Member, State Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of Karnataka chaired the function. Group photograph of all participating delegates were filmed at the end of the valedictory session. The conference served as a right platform and an excellent opportunity for the delegates to learn through sharing of experiences, see the latest technologies and do business networking. The conference concluded with participants returning home carrying the sweet memories of the garden city of India Bangalore with a hope to come back to India for the next IAFSSG Conference in 2016.