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29 A P P E N D I X C List of ARFFâs Issues and Recommendations
30 List of Issues Injuries to passengers and crew would be the biggest issue. Broken or sprained ankles and/or burns, mainly on the passengersâ wrists, arms and backside due to the abrasiveness of the slides. The speed of initial passengers evacuating down slide with no ground assistance result in back ups and injuries. Lack of cockpit/ground communications (at some airports) Using the discrete radio frequency, decreases the unnecessary deployment of slides. Ability of communicating with the pilots reduces anxiety and stress in the pilots due to the fact that the ARFF tell them what is going on behind them and what they are doing to assist them. If not a true emergency and slides were deployed, flight crew will not stop the process. The best we can do is hold the slides down for the passengers utilizing them and try to calm them down as they do. If the evacuation is not a true emergency, ARFF must try to slow the speed of the evacuation. The serious head injuries etc. are most often caused by passengers landing on top of one another at the base of the slide. Slides deployed at incidents where evacuation may not be the answer or deployed into the wrong area. Evacuation control - when slides are deployed flight crews are trained to evacuate passengers quickly (90 seconds) leading to behaviors and actions that result in near panic on the passengers part. This leads to injuries, disorientation and passenger control issues when the aircraft is evacuated via the slides in "minor" emergencies. Every time slides are deployed there are issues controlling the slides in windy conditions and getting passengers out of the way quickly at the bottom of the slide. Slides getting twisted and caught up at the door. Fire Crews on the ground can lift the slide up at the bottom taking the weight off the slide and turn the slide so it will be in the correct position. Failure of slides to operate - crew verbalized their concern that at least one of the slides did not deploy. Wind velocity (slides blow in the wind)
31 Securing and maintaining safe egress paths and staging areas for ambulatory PAXs after reaching the bottom of the slide. Staffing ground operation personnel needed to secure and manage the landing zones that often are the site of PAX injury. Effectively handling injured/ infirm PAXs to safety, without compromising other emergency operations (i.e. fire suppression and control) occurring simultaneously. Communication difficulties caused by the lack of secured methods (i.e. D.E.F.) and procedures with Flight Crews to best determine crucial deployment/non-deployment decision making process. Deployed away from ARFF location When slide deployment occurs prior to our arrival, the possibility exists that they may deploy to the fire side of the aircraft. Also, when the aircraft comes to stop at a difficult angle, the escape route could be unusually unsafe to access. It is possible that in the heat of battle, aircraft occupants will exit the plane into unsafe situations. Deployed slides limit access to the aircraft via air stairs Injury to rescue personnel is a major issue. Deployment of slides usually involves in injury of emergency personnel. As much as the ARFF personnel are trained, there is always someone working who is not familiar with slide deployment rescue techniques. List of Recommendations Train with various airlines on various aircraft as to how the slides operate. Get to know the numbers and locations of the slides on the aircraft that frequently fly your airport. Train them on what constitutes the need for an emergency evacuation by slide. Training with airline staff covering their evacuation procedures & ARFF concerns ARFF tactical plans should contain priority consideration to deployment of firefighters to assist with slide evacuation e.g. establish sectors/slide zones, identify hazards, hold slide down, assist with passenger flow, etc... Upon initial "size up", ARFF command should identify an area of refuge to assemble and protect passengers Airports work with local ATCT and design DEF to improve incident coordination and action planning. Bring pilot into the unified command structure. Have an emergency response team on scene to handle the injured passengers Discrete Emergency Frequencies (DEF) will assist ARFF to coordinate with the pilot and possibly prevent utilizing slides. Get air stairs on scene, they are cheaper for the airlines and safer for the passengers.
Identify a "discrete" frequency that would allow the ARFF Group Supervisor, Flight Crew and Air Traffic Control. This tool can make it much easier on the flight crew in evaluating the need to evacuate the aircraft. Slides should only be used in a true emergency. Fire, smoke in the cabin that causes passengers and crew breathing difficulties. We have seen times when they deploy for electrical, light haze, exterior fires etc. Safety for Passenger and crew are most important concern, if you can use stairs vs. slides....use the stairs! Have air stairs on scene and visible to the flight crew to offer an alternative to slide evacuation if the situation allows. Provide practical training opportunities using either actual aircraft slide deployments, or simulators that allow ARFF crews to physically practice their craft. Develop/design a more ergonomic slide angle and slide termination points thus decreasing PAX injury Potential Lighting or reflective markers installed along slides length would allow better visibility of deployment configuration upon ARFF crews approach to the incident. Hands-on training with slides by ARFF and flight crews to increase coordination and communication, even if crews train with departments we believe expectations from the ARFF side are similar across the board, controlled evacuation, proper deployment, and passenger refuge. Enhance and improve ARFF communication w/ flight crew on incidents where the use of slides might be uncertain. While we hesitate to develop a system that slows or limits evacuation when it is called for in the flight crew's judgment, flight crews should not hesitate to call for a second opinion during those incidents when it is not clear that the use of slides is called for. Every ARFF Group should have Standard Operating Guidelines that pre-identify companies whose primary responsibility would be evacuation. Identify several pre-designated Multi-Casualty Incident staging areas on the AOA. 32
