The Hindu Business Line : Hyderabad airport fire station awarded

Playing with fire: Personnel of the Fire Service Station at Hyderabad airport demonstrating the `walk on fire' exercise on Friday. -- A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , March 19

WHEN the Air Deccan inaugural flight carrying VIPs such as Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mr Venkaiah Naidu and Mr K. Yerran Naidu caught fire while taking off from the Hyderabad airport in September last, the Airport Fire Service team knew that they had very little time to put out the fire.

For, the survival time for passengers in such cases is just 138 seconds. "Every second counts," Mr Shankar Gopal, Senior Manager of Fire Services, said. A team led by him did succeed in the mission.

Recalling a more recent incident, Mr Gopal said the fire service crew "cooled down" a red-hot engine of a Lankan flight using carbon dioxide a month ago.

"We have the capability to respond in just two minutes - from receiving the call to reaching the spot," he told Business Line.

The fire station at Hyderabad airport has come of age - from a small team of 12 people way back in 1972 to a robust 100-member team that won the `Best Fire Station' trophy for the Southern region.

"Prior to 1972, there were only 12 people working at the fire station with primitive equipment," Mr Ramakrishna, Director of Hyderabad Airport, said.

As the airport upgraded itself from managing Boeing 737s, Viscounts and Dakotas to managing Air Bus 330s, 320s and Boeing 747s, the fire station too ramped up its capabilities. "The staff used to communicate with Air Traffic Control (ATC) using a Very High Frequency (VHF) set and a telephone which often failed the staff. Now, the staff uses FM sets, a direct telephone, a hotline, computer network and intercoms," a senior staffer, who put in 39 years at the station, said.

To cap it all, the station is now equipped with three `Agni Vijay' heavy-duty trucks that comprise dry chemical powder (to extinguish under carriage fire), carbon dioxide and foam. The Czech-made truck costs Rs 1.5 crore each.

At a function held at the fire station today, Mr S.K. Saraswathi, Regional Executive Director (South) of Airports Authority of India (AAI), presented the award to Mr Ramakrishna.

Later, the fire station personnel demonstrated a variety of mock rescue operations and showcased modern gadgets that included hydraulic cutters and multi-utility expanders.

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