Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) refers to a special class of fire fighting which incorporates response, evacuation, mitigation and rescuing of the crew and passengers involved in an emergency at the airport. Its services are very important because they can help in saving the lives of those involved in such a catastrophic emergency (David, P., 2003).
Challenges
Some of the major challengers faced when executing such operations include:
1. Inadequate facilities
This kind of work is very risky because of the radiant heats produced by the burning fuels hence requiring the use of protective clothes. However, many at times, these experts fail to acquire the best quality apparatus that can enable them to comfortably breathe in these smoky areas. As a result, they end up endangering their health making them not to concentrate in their duties.
2. Labor intensive
Fire fighting exercise is so demanding in terms of labor. There are so many activities to be done right from the time of the occurrence of an incident. It requires a proper alert, preparation and immediate response (Bernard, K., 2007). Hence, both the fire fighters and the support staff should dedicate their time to selflessly respond without being pushed.
3. Inadequate training
Because of its importance, the ARFF activates should be carried out by professionals. Meaning, the fire fighters should be well trained people who are really informed on various aspects of this job. However, many of them lack this. They are not informed on how best they can analyze and evaluate the situation before taking the appropriate steps.
4. Gender issues
Many female fire fighters often face the challenge of appropriate protective gears. There is gender discrimination in the production of these gears since most of them are made for men. This makes it extremely difficult for their female counterparts to get the right gears fitting them. So, they are forced to use the men’s that makes them do this job so uncomfortably (Hall, R., 2004).
References
Bernard, K. (2007) Structural Firefighting: Strategies and Tactics. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
David, P. (2003). KAL 007: Cover-up. New York: Summit Books.
Hall, R. (2004) Essentials of Fire Fighting. Fourth Edition. Stillwater, OK: Fire Protection
Publications.
