Flames rise above Tampa International Airport for annual emergency drill
TAMPA, Fla. - Firefighters with the airport division of Tampa Fire Rescue simulated an emergency at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday evening.
Crews used a prop that was doused in jet fuel and lit on fire.
"When we’re talking about aircraft and jet fuel, it can be a very intense event, a very rare incident, but it could be a high-risk event, so the flames will be burning quite a bit hotter than your typical fire," said James Billotte, the airport division chief for Tampa Fire Rescue.
Dealing with jet fuel requires a special type of training, so first responders know what to do if there’s a real emergency.
Even their protective gear is a little different from what they’d typically wear when they’re called for help. The fire trucks are different too. They look like army tanks.
"Some of them carry up to 3,000 gallons of water and a lot of foam, and you’ll see that their large four-wheel drive apparatus, quite a bit larger than your typical municipal fire truck," Chief Billotte said.
Jet fuel burns at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is significantly hotter than gasoline, so training with it, as opposed to using gas, gives firefighters a real-world experience.
"Here at our training ground we have a prop, it’s a prop that has a simulated airplane wing on it, and we’ll use actual jet fuel to burn in that area," said Chief Billotte.