N.C. Crews Train at New Aviation Disaster Center
Source The Star, Shelby, N.C.
Sept. 23--SHELBY -- Americans watched horrified this week as planes crashed during two deadly air shows in West Virginia and Nevada.
Pilots and spectators died. Debris fell into the crowd. Fire erupted from the crash site.
Cleveland Community College can help people train for those emergencies.
CCC's Brown Emergency Training Center now offers airport firefighter certification. The North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission Certification Board recently approved the BETC program, which teaches people to respond to plane-related emergencies, such as fuel spills, propane gas fires and victim rescue.
The program is applicable for all firefighters, even if their district isn't near an airport, said Jimmy Hensley, BETC coordinator.
"Just because they don't have airports, everybody has planes flying over," Hensley said.
First of its kind
The BETC airport firefighter program is the only community college or public agency program in the state approved to offer training with a once-commissioned aircraft carrier, according to CCC. Instructors take the 12-seater aircraft on the road to meet groups interested in receiving the program training.
The plane, which Hensley said was decommissioned because it was struck by lightning too many times, has an onboard smoke generator to simulate disaster situations. But much of the plane is the same as a working aircraft.
Hensley called it the plane a "specialized tool" for training firefighters for aircraft-related emergencies.
Classes are already scheduled in six North Carolina counties, Hensley said. Shelby Fire and Rescue also plans on having all its firefighters trained, he said. The program certification requires 40 hours of training, including classroom work and eight hours of a live burn.
But CCC's decommissioned aircraft isn't just for firefighter training. Hensley said the plane could be used to simulate disasters in places like the Shelby-Cleveland County Regional Airport and train employees for a potential emergency.
Reach reporter Jordan-Ashley Baker at 704-669-3332.
