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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City International Airport has examined and re-evaluated the response time of their emergency crews after the news of the fatal airplane crash in San Francisco on Sunday.
According to the FAA, Fire crews have three minutes to respond to disasters like the fatal crash at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday. Salt Lake Fire Spokesman Jasen Asay said that is the reason that all airports have fire engines on the premises at all times. The Salt Lake City airport has 13 firefighters and six engines on the property.
"Five of our six airport rigs just have one firefighter inside," Asay said. "They do everything: they drive, they shoot the water, and it's a big responsibility for them and also a big challenge for them."
Asay said that typically crews will notice that something is wrong before an accident happens.
"We'll have a plane come in that is reporting that it has something wrong with its landing gear or report of smoke in the cockpit.," Asay said. "When that happens, we're able to stage engines and trucks from other parts of the city close to the airport."
However, if the pilots don't realize and report problems, then emergency responders have no time to "brace for impact." Investigators said that may have been the case in the San Francisco airplane accident where three people were kill in the aftermath of the accident.
The Salt Lake City fire engines can shoot water without hoses, and their piercing nozzles can cut into planes to shoot water or retardant to quickly extinguish fires. Asay said that with a plane crash, fire fighters also have to deal with smoke and debris from the broken aircraft. The fire engine drivers must also avoid injured passengers on the landing strips.
