Yellowknife (Dec 17/03) - From chasing wildlife off runways to preparing for disasters, airport fire fighters are ready and waiting to deal with anything to keep passengers safely flying the Northern skies.

Airport firefighter Charlie Bourassa is always ready and waiting on the job with the Emergency Response Services crew. - Dorothy Westerman/NNSL photo

Steve Loutitt, a 16-year veteran of the service, said the scope of their duties at the airport reaches far and wide.

On the job at 6:30 a.m., Loutitt said the first job of the day is a maintenance check on the two fire trucks to ensure they are ready to zoom out the door in case of an emergency.

Then it is training period, Loutitt said.

"We go through all types of fire fighting lesson plans for different types of incidents."

The afternoon sees the fire fighters dealing with different types of security issues. The evening shift gets the job of cleaning up the fire hall and patrolling the runways for debris or stray wildlife. A lot of activity happens behind the airport fences, Loutitt said.

Wayne Vielhauer, a fire fighter for five years, said the job is about more than just fighting fires.

"It's kind of anything and everything," he said.

There are nine fire fighters on the airport crew, plus the manager of safety and security. Although they never know what might happen from one day to the next, 24-year veteran Dave Hessdorfer said there is no job like it.

For him, one of the best parts of the job is responding to whatever emergencies arise. "Responding to incidents where you can see that you've done something beneficial," Hessdorfer explained.

Medical emergencies, injuries and inflight emergencies are just a few of the many different types events which may occur and send the fire fighters rushing to the scene.

Preventing wildlife from approaching the aircraft is an essential part of the job in the North.

"The engines can ingest birds which can shut them down and have catastrophic results if it's not taken care off," Loutitt said. "In the summer we're out there hourly, trying to get the birds away from the runways."

Training is another part of the job that he finds quite enjoyable, Hessdorfer said.

"We also train for vehicle extrication as well as aircraft training," he noted.

One of the most memorable days at the airport, the three agreed, was Sept. 11, 2001, when security was beefed up as one international flight was diverted to the airport.

"The pilots couldn't tell the passengers what was going on. The RCMP were here and you have to treat everyone on board as a potential terrorist," Vielhauer said.

"That made for an interesting day."