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THE SALAMANDER | AUGUST 2016
On May 20th a group from the Worshipful
Company of Firefighters visited Gatwick Airport
for a behind the scenes tour of the South
Terminal and the Gatwick Airport Fire Station.
We were hosted by two WCoFF members,
Roger Gentle, Fire Safety Manager at Gatwick
Airport and Simon Petts, Station Manager,
Gatwick Airport Fire & Rescue Service.
The visit started with a talk by Roger Gentle
on the fire safety and evacuation procedures in
place in the terminal buildings, emphasising the
particular hazards encountered when catering
for the safety of several million passengers
each year in such a potentially hazardous
environment. Next the group were driven to an
area close to the North Terminal to witness a
rare event, a water arch pumped by two of the
crash tenders to celebrate the first flight by Air
Canada on an inaugural route.
After this, there was a tour of the fire station and
a detailed description of one of the Rosenbauer
Panther crash tenders, followed by a visit to
the fire training ground where engine and cabin
fires were simulated in the training rig, skilfully
dealt with by one of the firefighters operating the
bumper and roof-mounted monitors on one of
the Panthers. Whilst the rig was still warm from
the simulated fires, the group were then able to
enter it to see the complex internal design used
to train firefighters in both extinguishing fires
on board an aircraft and search and rescue
techniques.
It was awonderfully informativeandentertaining
day and the group were all very proud that
two of our members were so closely involved
in delivering such an essential service to the
travelling public.
About the Author:
This article was submitted by Liveryman Prof.
David Holt. David is a member of the PR &
Marketing Committee and is the custodian of
the memorabilia items for sale at company
dinners and events.
Paul Bryant, Roger Gentle, Frank David, Nicole Hoffmann, Simon Petts, David Holt & Ken Williams
GATWICK FIRE STATION VISIT