SAFETY
SAFETY AT
SAFETY AT THE BUFFALO AIRPORT...
BUFFALO AIRPORT...
CHANNEL
CHANNEL 2'S MICHAEL WOOTEN SPENT TIME WITH THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT... AND
LEARNED... CREWS ARE
WAY BUSIER THAN
YOU'D THINK.
MICHAEL HAS NEW
INFORMATION ON THE
"NUMBER" OF
EMERGENCIES... AND
HOW CREWS ARE
CONSTANTLY TRAINING
TO BE READY... JUST IN
CASE!
CASE!
SUMMER
SUMMER BEFORE LAST... THIS PLANE -- CARRYING ACTRESS JENNIFER
LAWRENCE -- WAS EN
ROUTE FROM
LOUISVILLE TO
TETERBORO AIRPORT
NEAR NEW YORK CITY...
WHEN SOMETHING
WENT SERIOUSLY
WRONG...
"TRAILBLAZER 460,
WHAT HAPPENED? LEFT
ENGINE FAILURE."
THE JET TURBINE
STOPPED WORKING... AT
31-THOUSAND FEET.
"TRAILBLAZER 460 IS IN
EMERGENCY..."
IT GOT DIVERTED TO THE
BUFFALO NIAGARA
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT...
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT... AND WITH EMERGENCY
CREWS AT THE READY...
"THE NEXT AIRCRAFT TO
LAND IS YOUR
EMERGENCY AIRCRAFT."
THE HAWKER 400
BUSINESS JET TOUCHED
DOWN SAFELY...
ONE OF SEVERAL
"DOZEN" EMERGENCY
LANDINGS TO HAPPEN
"HERE" OVER JUST THE
PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
"WHEN YOU'RE TOLD
THERE IS AN
EMERGENCY WITH A
PLANE, WHAT GOES
THROUGH YOUR MIND?"
"WHEN THE BELL RINGS,
EVERYTHING STOPS,
AND WE GO INTO OUR
RESPONSE."
AND THEY'RE
RESPONDING WAY MORE
THAN YOU'D THINK.
2 ON YOUR SIDE
OBTAINED EMERGENCY
REPORTING DATA...
SHOWING THE JENNIFER
LAWRENCE EMERGENCY
LANDING WAS ONE OF
507 TOTAL INCIDENTS IN
2017.
FOR 2018... THE NUMBER
ROSE TO 632
EMERGENCIES.
"WHEN YOU SEE 632
INCIDENTS IN ALL OF
LAST YEAR, IT SOUNDS
LIKE A BIG NUMBER. IT IS
A BIG NUMBER. YEA, IT'S
A BIG NUMBER..."
THAT INCLUDED A
JETBLUE PLANE
DAMAGED BY A BIRD
STRIKE IN MAY...
"WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO
COME BACK AND LAND
IN BUFFALO..."
AND A DELTA JET
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING A
MONTH EARLIER...
"WE JUST HAD A
SEVERE LIGHTNING
STRIKE RIGHT ON THE
NOSE..."
"IT WAS JUST A BIG
POP..."
"...AND THEN THERE
WAS A BIG FLASH RIGHT
ALONG WITH IT..."
WHILE MOST OF THESE
END OF BEING "MINOR"
EMERGENCIES...
CHIEF MAJOR SAYS -- IN
THE MOMENT -- IT
DOESN'T FEEL THAT
WAY...
"TO THE PERSON THAT'S
FLYING THE PLANE AND
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
IN THE PLANE, IT'S NOT
MINOR."
AND IT CAN "SOUND"
WORSE THAN IT REALLY
IS...
TAKE THIS INCIDENT...
THE SMALL PLANE
"LOST" POWER DURING
LANDING... AND THE
PILOT GUIDED IT INTO AN
"EMPTY" PARKING LOT
NEAR THE AIRPORT...
"ALL I HEARD WAS JUST
TWO LOUD CRASHES..."
AS FIREFIGHTERS LEFT
THE STATION... THEY
EXPECTED "MUCH"
WORSE... BECAUSE...
"THE ORIGINAL CALL
CAME IN THAT WE HAD A
PLANE THAT WENT INTO
THE TERMINAL. THANK
GOODNESS THAT
WASN'T THE CASE. THAT
WAS NOT THE CASE."
THOSE TYPES OF
MECHANICAL "PLANE"
EMERGENCIES CAUSE
THE MOST CONCERN...
BUT THE MAJORITY OF
FIREFIGHTER
RESPONSES... DEALT
WITH MEDICAL ISSUES...
INVOLVING PEOPLE IN
THE TERMINAL... AND
PASSENGERS LANDING
IN PLANES...
"HE GOT OFF THE PLANE
AND THEN CODED HERE
IN THE AIRPORT..."
THESE CREWS
RESPONDED TO
PEDESTRIANS HIT...
CHEMICAL SPILLS...
SMOKE ALARMS... YOU
NAME IT.
"BECAUSE THESE
FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND
TO SO MANY DIFFERENT
TYPES OF
EMERGENCIES, THEY'RE
CONSTANTLY TRAINING.
ONE SESSION
HAPPENING RIGHT
NOW."
"WHY IS THE TRAINING
IMPORTANT? WELL, THE
TRAINING BECAUSE WE
NEVER KNOW WHAT
WE'RE GOING TO GET
FOR ONE THING. AND WE
HAVE TO BE ON TOP OF
OUR GAME FOR
EVERYTHING OUT HERE,
SO WHETHER IT BE AN
AIRCRAFT, EMS OR
ANYTHING, PEOPLE CAN
FEEL THAT THEY'RE
SAFE, THEY'RE
PROTECTED."
CREWS DROVE US OUT
TO A SPECIAL TRAINING
SITE...
"DISPATCH F4 IS ON THE
AIRFIELD..."
AT THE EDGE OF THE
AIRPORT PROPERTY...
WHERE A 727 JET --
DONATED BY FED-EX --
GIVES FIREFIGHTERS A
PRETTY UNIQUE
TRAINING OPPORTUNITY.
"THERE'S A LOT OF
TRAINING THAT GOES ON
FOR AN EVENT THAT WE
HOPE NEVER HAPPENS,
BUT WE'RE PREPARED IF
IT DOES."
ONE PERSON CAN DRIVE
"AND"
"AND" OPERATE THE SO-CALLED "CRASH TRUCKS".
THIS ONE HOLDS 3-
THOUSAND GALLONS OF
WATER... AND 420
GALLONS OF FOAM.
DIFFERENT TRUCKS
HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES
OF SPECIALIZED
EQUIPMENT ADDED ON...
"THIS VEHICLE HAS A
SNOZZLE. IF YOU LOOK
UP THERE THERE'S A
POINT ON THE TIP OF
THE MONITOR AND THAT
GIVES US THE ABILITY IF
WE NEED TO TO PIERCE
INSIDE AN AIRCRAFT.
WHY WOULD YOU NEED
TO DO THAT? SO ON A
CARGO PLANE IF THEY
HAVE A FIRE AND
THEY'VE GOT ALL THE
CRATES LOADED UP IN
THE PLANE AND WE
CAN'T GET TO IT, THE
PLANE WILL BURN UP.
SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO
IS USE THIS AND WE
PIERCE THE SIDE OF THE
AIRCRAFT."
ALL THE EMERGENCY
EQUIPMENT IS HOUSED
IN A RELATIVELY NEW
FIRE STATION...
STRATEGICALLY PLACED
RIGHT BY THE RUNWAY.
"YOU ARE SECONDS
AWAY FROM THE
AIRFIELD? THE AIRFIELD,
YES."
AND LESS THAN TWO
MINUTES AWAY FROM
THE TERMINAL...
ALTHOUGH SOME
INCIDENTS TAKE THEM
"FARTHER" AWAY...
"THE TOWER HAD
CALLED TO OUR
DISPATCH AND SAID
THAT A PLANE WAS OFF
THE RADAR..."
CHIEF MAJOR WAS
WORKING THE NIGHT OF
FEBRUARY 12TH... 2009...
WHEN FLIGHT 3407
CRASHED INTO A HOME
IN CLARENCE.
THE WORK OF THE
AIRPORT FIREFIGHTERS
HELPED SALVAGE SOME
OF THE PERSONAL
BELONGINGS FOUND
AMONG THE
WRECKAGE... AND
PRESERVE EVIDENCE
CRITICAL TO THE
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION.
"THE
"THE FIRE
"THE FIRE WOULD NOT HAVE GONE OUT IF WE HADN'T, OR IT WOULD
HAVE JUST BURNED
ITSELF OUT, BUT BY
GETTING OUT THERE
AND USING OUR FOAM
THAT WE CARRY ON THE
TRUCKS, WE WERE ABLE
TO PUT THE FIRE OUT."
THE CHIEF SAYS -- A LOT
OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW
THE AIRPORT HAS ITS
OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
BUT HE HOPES
PASSENGERS TAKE
SOME COMFORT IN
KNOWING THEY'RE
THERE 24/7... 365 DAYS A
YEAR... TO RESPOND TO
ALL TYPES OF
EMERGENCIES.
"TRYING TO MAKE THEIR
TRAVELS, YOU KNOW,
SAFER AND MAKE THEM
CALM WHEN THEY GET
ON THE AIRCRAFT."
A
A FINAL
A FINAL FOOTNOTE... WHILE THE AIRPORT HAS DOZENS OF
FIREFIGHTERS... IT
STILL RELIES ON
MUTUAL AID...
ESPECIALLY FOR A
SIGNIFICANT
RESPONSE... SO YOU
HAVE LOTS OF
VOLUNTEER
DEPARTMENTS THAT
PITCH IN... EVEN THE
CITY OF BUFFALO FIRE
DEPARTMENT WILL HELP WITH EMERGENCIES AT THE
AIRPORT.
AIRPORT.