"Louisville, Kentucky airport firefighters ready for new station"

Monday, December 11, 2000

Airport firefighters ready for new station
Work could begin this month, end by spring 2002
By BUTCH JOHN
Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal


Capt. Wesley Smith has been with the Louisville airport's fire department
since before its firehouse was built. But nostalgia aside, he can't wait to
be shed of the noisy, cramped building.
Airport officials say work on a $2.9 million station to replace the
27-year-old structure could begin by the end of this month and be done in
spring 2002.

The new station will be more centrally located to hasten access to the
airport, said Bob Brown, director of engineering for Louisville
International Airport.

Shifting flight patterns and the relocation of runways over the years have
made it difficult for the department to meet minimum response times to
emergencies as dictated by the Federal Aviation Administration, Brown said.

"Hopefully passengers won't notice it because there won't be an emergency,
but if there is, it will provide quicker response," he said.

The firefighters, employees of the Regional Airport Authority, make about
450 runs a year, mostly medical emergencies involving passengers. They also
assist United Parcel Service's own emergency department if necessary.

Their unofficial motto is put out fires and save babies, acknowledged Smith,
a veteran of 28 years.
The nearly two dozen firefighters work 24-hour shifts every third day in an
obsolete building with a leaky roof.

Nor is the insulation what it could be, making for warmer days and colder
nights than would a more modern building, said Capt. Richard Allgood, whose
career also predates the current firehouse.
"New is better than old in everything but cheese and wine, and it's time for
a replacement," Allgood said.

The airport's last fatal crash occurred Sept. 30, 1975, when a rented Cessna
150 dived into the intersection of the field's two runways. The last
passenger plane incident came in 1970, when a Delta DC-9 carrying 94
passengers crashed on landing, injuring 15.

None of the firefighters can lay claim to saving a baby, Smith said.
However, if the need arises, the firefighters are well-equipped with seven
trucks. They also have use of the unique "schnozzle," a ladder-like device
that can cut through an airplane's fuselage, scan the inside with an
attached camera and spray anti-fire foam.

Mostly, Smith said, they check runways for loose objects and make terminal
runs for sick passengers.

But once in a while, the unusual comes up. Last month, Smith said, the
Louisville airport got a call from a cargo airline asking for help in
finding a Memphis, Tenn.-based worker who got "lost" loading a plane bound
for Louisville.

"They called and told us, 'We're one employee short and he may be locked in
the cargo hold,' " Smith said. "When the plane landed, there he was. He was
cold, but there he was."

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