Components on Which the ARFF Must Be Trained On for the Boeing 737 Aircraft

Firefighting in the airport is a flight operations safety whose responsibility is to prepare for aircraft rescue. The operators of Part 139 airports have the responsibility of providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services during the operations of the air carrier (Federal Aviation Administration, n.d). The American Airlines, airport rescue firefighting (ARFF) is trained for every department depending on the unique needs of the environment, training, tactics, strategies and equipment required for the particular needs. Training for firefighting also depends on each type of aircraft and the equipment that are available on the plane. It means that training for ARFF is done across airline departments in the American Airlines system where they differ in procedure and the type of training. The research paper aims at discussing the components on which the ARFF must be trained on for the Boeing 737 aircraft and the hazards that exist for the ARFF on this particular aircraft.

The components on which the ARFF must be trained on for the Boeing 737 aircraft

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters have the responsibility of protecting the airport and save lives as the most valuable thing (Stecklein, 2010). They need to understand and have in mind the complex layout of the airport. Additional training for the ARFF is of vital importance. For the Boeing 737 aircraft, there are various elements that the ARFF should be trained to enable them to handle safety operations for the particular aircraft in the airport. For the Boeing 737, the ARFF  must be trained on components such as flammable materials locations, battery locations, emergency rescue access, and the flight deck control switch locations (Boeign, 2017).

The Emergency Rescue Access

The ARFF must be trained on emergency rescue access. Here, they should be trained on the areas to access the aircraft interior for the purpose of rescuing the people aboard. Here, the ARFF must know that to access the aircraft interior, they can use the forward entry door, service door, cargo door, after service door, after entry door, overwing escape hatches, overwing escape hatches and doors. In the case of more access rescue areas, the ARFF should be informed about the need for chopping particular areas at the front and middle of the aircraft. All these access areas will make it easy for the ARFF to undertake their rescue mission.

The Emergency Rescue Door Access

To access the emergency door, the ARFF must be trained on how to slide the pilot's window after then open it from outside by pushing in the external access door or pulling the outside release handle. After that, the window is slid to open. ARFF should also know how to open the forward and after entry door using the external handle and tilting on the left-hand side. The handle is slid to open the door and to pull it outwards, rotating clockwise and pulling the door outward. Also, they should carefully open these doors taking care of the passenger and service doors not to deploy when these doors are open from outside automatically. Using the right-hand side, the forward and after service, the door can also be opened using the external handle. The handle is pulled outward, rotated counterclockwise and pulled outward to open the door.

ARFF should also be trained to open the emergency over-wing exit Hatches. They need to use the exit push panel and press the hatch inward and upward. To access the emergency rescue door, the ARFF should use the airplane cross section by chopping out the areas across there. They need to know how to use metals to cut and chop out those areas.

Emergency exit and Equipment Location

The ARFF needs to know where the emergency exit and equipment for fire rescue are located in the aircraft. An emergency exit is located at the forward entry area; there is the 1st aid kit. On the left-hand side of the bulkhead, there is the handle AFT F/C. On the left-hand side of the OHB above the AFT, there is the over wing exit where extra life vests can be found. The last left-hand side of the OHB M/C, there are first aid kits. On the left-hand side of the bulkhead AFT M/C, the ARFF can find the emergency light switch at the F/A control panel. On the right-hand side opposite the entry area, there is a cockpit and a 56 man life raft. On the first right-hand side of the OHB M/C, the ARFF can find an ELT with OHB placard. There is a 56 man life Raft at each of the F/A Jumpseat.

The Flight Deck Control Switch Locations

The ARFF must be trained on where to find the flight deck control locations. They need to know how to access the APU Master switch, APU fire switch, start levers full trust levels and at the battery switch. The APU Master should be switched off in the case of fire in the aircraft. The full thrust levels should be retarded, cut off the smart levels, pull the APU fire switch and light guard as well as switch off the battery switch.

The Flammable Material Locations and Battery Locations

The ARFF should be trained on the where the flammable material locations are found. They are located in the auxiliary tank area, vent surge tank, 2nd fuel tank, and crew oxygen bottle in the WD Cargo Are. There is a Portable Oxygen Bottle located behind the first officer, center fuel tank, engine oil tank at the right side of the engine, vent surge tank at the edge of the right wing, and APU emergency control panel located in the right wheel well area among other flammable material locations. There are three batteries -600, -700 and -800 which are located and accessible from the front of the cargo compartment.

Hazards that exist for the ARFF on this particular aircraft

The major risk of fire zones of the Boeing 737 include the fuel tanks placed on the wings, in the engines, and at the auxiliary location. These fuels tanks are seen to be interconnected with cross-feed valves. There is also vent surge tank on the aircraft wing that poses a hazard to the ARFF. Oil tanks are other risk zones in the Boeing 737 aircraft. At the auxiliary power unit, there us an oil reservoir which is a danger zone. There are also portable oxygen bottles at the passenger cabin and hydraulic reservoirs in the wheel well. There is also the Wheel fire and batteries located at the side of the engine. Apart from being trained to fight the fire and rescue the people aboard, the ARFF should also be aware of the above-indicated hazards that they should be careful when saving people to avoid injuries and getting burned in the process of firefighting and rescue mission.

References

American Airlines. (2013). Aircraft Rescue And Fire Fighting Guide. Revision 0. AA Flight Safety Department. Retrieved from http://docplayer.net/2550156-Aircraft-rescue-and-fire-fighting-guide-revision-0-aa-flight-safety-department-4601-hwy-360-md-849-gswfa-fort-worth-texas-76155-phone-817-967-1829.html

Boeing. (2017). Airplane Rescue and Fire Fighting. Airport Compatibility. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/rescue_fire.page

Federal Aviation Administration. (n.d). Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Airports. U.S Department of Transportation. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/aircraft_rescue_fire_fighting/

Stecklein, J. (2010). Aircraft Rescue Firefighters: Protecting the airport. Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved from http://amarillo.com/stories/080110/new_news1.shtml#.WIrOadJ95dg