PDK's Very Own: Station 15

      
 
Click images to view larger version.

A General Aviation Reliever airport even the size of PDK does not have a Federal requirement to position or maintain an Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting (ARFF) unit on the airfield.  Even the largest & busiest general aviation airports may have fire stations that are off of the airport property.  Obviously, many of the smallest airports use the same volunteer fire departments as the community would use for any kind of fire response.

However, working very closely with the DeKalb County Fire & Rescue, we are fortunate to have three (3) vehicles actually based on the field in the Station 15 facility on Flightway Drive.  "Charlie-15" (C-15) is the primary aircraft accident response or ARFF vehicle.  The callsign "Engine-15" (E-15) is the primary structural response vehicle.  However, it has been upgraded to act as an aircraft firefighting vehicle as well.  And, we also have an ambulance with crew, and a Battalion Chief quartered in the same facility.

C-15 is the primary, oversize wheeled, relatively high-mobility ARFF vehicle.  It is a 1996 Titan.  It is manned by a crew of two who can actually fight fires from remotely controlling all of the nozzles from inside the truck cab.  It holds 500 gallons of water, 120 gallons of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), and 500 pounds of a dry firefighting chemical agent called "Purple-K" or "pK" for short.  The station has added more lights to the vehicle to enable the unit and crew to move safely and more quickly around the airport at night.  The crew is in direct contact with the FAA's air traffic control tower when it leaves the firehouse on the radio, and the unit literally has the capability to respond to almost any location on the airport in mere minutes after activation.

The big story, however, is the upgrade to "Engine 15" (E-15).  This unit is manufactured by Luverne, and is only 3-years old.  It used to be "Tanker 2", and it is still the primary structural response vehicle for the station for emergency responses in the north DeKalb County area.  However, significant upgrades have been made to the unit so that it can serve as a back up to C-15 or stand alone as our primary ARFF response unit should C-15 be down for maintenance or off the Airport for any other reason.

Engine 15:

• Has a 1,200 gallon water tank
• Holds 100 gallons of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)
• Can flow foam from every discharge point on the vehicle.  This includes the hoses, the main turret mounted in mid-vehicle, and the new bumper mounted turret as well.
• Manned by 3 to 4 personnel.
• Besides having the ability to accept water and pump it directly from a hydrant, it has the ability to draft water directly from a standing body of water like a pond, a swimming pool, or a lake.

Again, we are very fortunate to have such a station and vehicles directly on the Airport property.  This is extremely important, since the amount of fuel and the number of passengers aboard some of the larger business jets is significant.  By having this equipment directly on the airfield, trained for immediate and professional aircraft related response, DeKalb County and the PDK Airport is providing the safest operating environment possible.

<< return to gallery