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Overview of Airport Fire Services
A 2010 review of a Canada Flight Supplement (the official Government of Canada Airfield listing), shows there are 313 airports, airfields or helipads located in the Province of Ontario (this number subject to change). Of this total, 92 are situated in what can be considered Northern Ontario. The Sudbury Airport of course, is one of these.
Of greater concern, is that of these 313 Ontario airfields, only 9 provide dedicated, professional, on-site Crash, Fire, Rescue services.
In Northern Ontario there are a total of 92 operating airfields of which only 2 provide dedicated, professional, on-site Crash, Fire, Rescue services. These are Sudbury and Thunder Bay. For those other airfields throughout Ontario, Crash, Fire, Rescue services may be provided by Municipal fire services. Unfortunately, it is unlikely these fire services have received Transport Canada certification as Airport Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF), or in many cases, even received airport familiarization training. In those instances where Municipal Fire Services do respond to airfield emergencies, response times can be as much as 20 minutes from the time of the emergency.
The Sudbury Airport Fire Service is proud to provide the highest level of dedicated service to the community and travelling public.
Crash, Fire, and Rescue services at the Sudbury Airport are provided by City employees who have been specifically trained in both structural and aircraft firefighting and are certified by Transport Canada as Airport Rescue Firefighter (ARFF) personnel. Training and recertification is a constant evolution culminating in all 10 firefighters conducting live fire recertification training on a yearly basis.
The main area of operations for the Airport ARFF personnel is the air movements side of the airport where they are supported as required by firefighters from the City of Greater Sudbury. Familiarization training is provided on a regular basis to ensure the City firefighters are able to provide an effective response and assist airport firefighters.
Structural fires on the airport grounds is the primary responsibility of the Greater Sudbury Fire Service and Airport fire service personnel provide assistance when necessary. However, whenever possible without jeopardizing the Crash Fire Rescue response, the airport personnel will respond to structural fires at the airport.
While it may seem unusual that only 2 airports in Northern Ontario are providing on-site fire rescue services, there are only 34 airports across the entire country that provide any form of Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Services (NOTE: These numbers do not include airfields operated by the Department of National Defebce). Of these 34 airports, 9 are situated in Ontario.
Canadian airports currently providing Airport Fire Services are:
| 1. |
Abbotsford, British Columbia |
Level 6 |
| 2. |
Calgary International, Alberta |
Level 9 |
| 3. |
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
Level 6 |
| 4. |
Edmonton International, Alberta |
Level 8 |
| 5. |
Fort McMurray, Alberta |
Level 6 |
| 6. |
Fredricton International, New Brunswick |
Level 5 |
| 7. |
Gander International, Newfoundland |
Level 7 |
| 8. |
Grand Prairie, Alberta |
Level 5 |
| 9. |
Halifax Stanfield International, Nova Scotia |
Level 8 |
| 10. |
Hamilton, Ontario |
Level 7 |
| 11. |
Iqaluit, Nunavat |
Level 5 |
| 12. |
Kelowna, British Columbia |
Level 6 |
| 13. |
Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario |
Level 5 |
| 14. |
London, Ontario |
Level 6 |
| 15. |
Moncton/Greater Moncton International, New Brunswick |
Level 6 |
| 16. |
Montreal International (Pierre Elliot Trudeau), Quebec |
Level 9 |
| 17. |
Ottawa/MacDonald Cartier International, Ontario |
Level 8 |
| 18. |
Prince George, British Columbia |
Level 5 |
| 19. |
Quebec (Jean Lesage) International, Quebec |
Level 8 |
| 20. |
Regina, Sakatchewan |
Level 6 |
| 21. |
Saint John, New Brunswick |
Level 5 |
| 22. |
St. John's (Torbay), Newfoundland |
Level 7 |
| 23. |
Saskatoon (John G. Diefenbaker), Saskatchewan |
Level 7 |
| 24. |
Stephenville, Newfoundland |
Level 6 |
| 25. |
Sudbury, Ontario |
Level 5 |
| 26. |
Thunder Bay, Ontario |
Level 5 |
| 27. |
Toronto (Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport), Ontario |
Level 6 |
| 28. |
Toronto (Lester B. Pearson) International, Ontario |
Level 9 |
| 29. |
Vancouver International, British Columbia |
Level 9 |
| 30. |
Victoria International, British Columbia |
Level 6 |
| 31. |
Whitehorse International, Yukon Territories |
Level 7 |
| 32. |
Windsor, Ontario |
Level 5 |
| 33. |
Winnipeg International, Manitoba |
Level 7 |
| 34. |
Yellowknife, North West Territories |
Level 6 |
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