KY Airport Firefighters Keep Busy

The Daviess County Fire Department's airport station hasn't had a serious aircraft crash in years.

But in 2015, it made 1,296 emergency runs, which include fires, car accidents and medical responses in the western portion of the county.

"There are really very few rescue and firefighting calls on an airport, fortunately," Airport Director Bob Whitmer said. "We get to utilize the Daviess County Fire Department staff to cover a need at the airport. Most airports have a dedicated fire station just for the airport, but I don't know what they do all the time."

According to Daviess County Fire Chief Dwane Smeathers, the station's dual purpose makes it rare.

Out of the 53 airports in Kentucky, five have on-site fire stations. But only Daviess County's firefighters go beyond the runways and hangars.

"In the whole southern region, which includes Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, there are only one or two that do what we do," Smeathers said. "So it is very rare."

The Federal Aviation Administration requires all airports with commercial flights to have a 24-hour manned fire station. General aviation airports, which are most, serve private plane operators and do not have the mandate.

Currently, the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport is home to two commercial airlines -- Cape Air and Allegiant. The largest commercial jet that lands at the airport is a 177-passenger Airbus A320. The U.S. military also brings in its Blackhawk helicopters and C-130s, which are four-engine turboprop transport aircraft.

"When you get into commercial services and you have businesses on your airport like we do, you become a Part 139 Airport," Whitmer said. "And the FAA requires all the firefighting (standards)."

A crew of five staffs the airport station 24 hours a day but one firefighter stays behind when they're called to an off-site emergency.

Smeathers said there have been no major crashes at the airport in his recent memory.

"We had a hard landing or a crash during the Flood of 1997 at the airport," Smeathers said. "He'd hit a cable, tore wheels off, and he landed on just one wheel. And there was a guy about eight or nine years ago who came in on his belly. His landing gear didn't come down, and he didn't even realize it."

The current fire station was built in 1973, and plans are in the works to build a new multimillion-dollar station that will have to meet FAA standards.

Smeathers said the county pays the firefighters, whose salaries average about $42,000 a year, and pays a $546 monthly rent.

"It would be hard for the airport to fund the firefighters," Smeathers said.

But when the new station is built, the FAA will pick up most of the estimated $4 million to $5 million construction tab. Of that figure, the county will pay $26,000, and the state will match it with another $26,000.

The FAA purchased the station's required 40-foot-long and 11-foot-wide fire truck about eight years ago for $650,000. It carries 3,000 gallons of water, 400 gallons of foam and 750 pounds of dry chemical fire extinguisher and never leaves the airport.

"It barely fits in our station," said Smeathers, whose next largest truck carries 1,000 gallons of water. "When the doors are shut, we have to duck under the front bumper to get to the other side of the truck."

Whitmer said there was foresight by previous community officials who created a beneficial partnership between the county and the FAA.

"The airport boards from quite some time back and the Daviess County Fiscal Court fathers should be complimented," Whitmer said. "They saw the efficiencies in putting a fire station on the airport that serves the airport and serves the county. If the FAA can pay for a big share of this new fire station and the county picks up a lot of the operational costs, it's good for both of us."

Don Wilkins, [email protected], 270-691-7299, Twitter: @DonWilkinsMI

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©2016 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

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