FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- For the first time in 20 years, firefighters and police at Fresno Yosemite International Airport will have separate duties.

''Police officers will function for security only, and firefighters will do fires only,'' said Fresno police Lt. Tony Bennink, head of the city's Department of Homeland Security and Airport Unit.

The transition, set to go into effect Oct. 1, comes after a city Public Safety Commission raised concerns last year that the airport's public safety officers may not be utilized properly in a post-9/11 world.

The airport officers who patrol the terminal and grounds also operate fire trucks on the runway.

Last August, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the city $36,000 for a series of violations, including failure to train airport public safety officers to fight fires in the terminal and other buildings.

Fire Chief Randy Bruegman said the change will allow employees to focus on one specialty.

''It integrates police and fire into the city's public safety units,'' Bruegman said, adding that firefighters assigned to the airport will be treated as a specialty unit similar to the hazardous response and rescue teams.