The BAA fire service – keeping our airports safe

The BAA fire service plays a key role in maintaining heath and safety at our airports. It offers a world-class service and has an average response time of just two minutes and 20 seconds – significantly faster than legal requirements.

While accidents are infrequent, they can involve large amounts of aviation fuel, which when ignited can reach 1,000 degrees celsius in 90 seconds. This makes a rapid response time vital. To maintain response time performance, we invest more than £2 million annually in state-of-the-art equipment and training. We use infrared cameras and global positioning systems, so that we can quickly pinpoint incidents.

Our firefighters receive around 300 hours of training each year. Each of our airports has a state-of-the-art training simulator, where scenarios can be played out. This prepares our fire fighters for the many different situations they may face while maintaining safety at our airports.