The purpose of this role is to lead and coordinate the airfield crash-rescue and firefighting operations at the airport, ensuring full readiness, safe and compliant response to incidents, and the effective maintenance of personnel, equipment and facilities so that life-safety, property protection and regulatory compliance standards are consistently met.
- Supervise and lead the airfield rescue and firefighting team during operational shifts, including crash-rescue, aircraft incidents, hazardous materials events, fuel/foam incidents and other emergency response on the airport movement and adjacent areas.
- Drive, operate and ensure readiness of firefighting vehicles, major foam tenders, rapid intervention vehicles, rescue apparatus and associated equipment; ensure preventative maintenance, daily inspections, equipment readiness and fault-reporting.
- Monitor the airfield, ramp, fuel farm, apron and fire station facilities for hazards (fire, fuel, chemical, structural, wildlife, runway/airport movement hazards), conduct inspections and ensure corrective actions or mitigation measures are taken.
- Plan, schedule and deliver heavy operational training, drills, exercises (including full-scale live-fire drills, foam drills, HAZMAT simulations) to maintain team currency, proficiency and compliance with aviation rescue firefighting standards.
- Act as Incident Commander (or designate) during major emergencies on the airfield, assume command of firefighting and rescue operations, coordinate with airport operations, air traffic control, tenants and external emergency services, ensure safe evacuation, suppression, rescue, and scene control.
- Maintain shifts, staffing rosters, ensure adequate team coverage, manage fatigue, ensure staff physical readiness, PPE compliance and station operational readiness at all times.
- Review and maintain records of incidents, training, equipment inspections, maintenance logs, incident debriefs and after-action reports; identify lessons learned and implement improvements in operational procedures.
- Ensure compliance with aviation regulatory standards (for example those guided by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 14 and airport rescue/firefighting regulatory requirements) and internal airport certification requirements; liaise with relevant airport regulatory bodies.
- Collaborate with airport operations, fire prevention, security, fuel farm operations and other stakeholders to integrate fire/rescue operations into airport emergency planning, ensure equipment, access and fire-fighting water/foam systems are available and fully functional.
- Provide operational leadership during unusual events or major incidents (e.g., aircraft accident, fuel fire, hazardous material spill), ensuring that the rescue/firefighting team responds rapidly, safely and effectively while minimizing damage and maintaining regulatory compliance.