Firefighter – aviation

To most people, the thought of a major aviation emergency is the stuff of nightmares but to Cameron Nankervis it is the moment he puts his training into action.

To Mr Nankervis, a fire fighter with Airservices Australia based at Canberra Airport, a siren could mean anything from a passenger falling ill in the airport terminal to an emergency landing for an incoming aircraft.

“You work with the aircrafts and also the buildings around the airport as well, so you’ve got infrastructure as well as aviation,” says Mr Nankervis of his specialist role.

Getting a ‘possible assistance needed’ or PAN call at the fire station “happens more than people would think,” he adds. When a call does comes in, airport firefighters mobilise within seconds.

“The week before we had a passenger jet come in with hydraulic failure in the cockpit. When that happens we have minimal time to get out to certain parts of the airport.”

That plane landed smoothly, but not every incident is so straightforward.

“We had an aircraft the other day where the landing gear wouldn’t come down so we were on standby,” Mr Nankervis explains.

The light aircraft wasn’t conveying commercial passengers (“or else you would have heard about it”), but the ground crew were tense as the pilot brought the aircraft down without wheels onto the runway.

“He flew around for awhile to get rid of fuel and then landed belly-up.”

The pilot’s skill in gliding the plane onto the tarmac helped the situation end positively. “He did a good job,” Mr Nankervis says. “Nobody was hurt, but the aircraft needed a fair bit of maintenance.”

Despite an average emergency call out of two to three times per day, worst-case scenarios are rare. “A fair amount of time they land safely and no action is taken on our part.”

And not every situation is high risk. “We get a lot of first aid calls. We’re a lot closer than the nearest ambulance station.”

When there are no incidents to tackle, airport fire crew brush up on their training, undertake routine maintenance or use the station’s gym equipment.

“In our downtime our day is fairly structured. We all have a work routine,” he says.

“We have a simulated 747 down at the airport we use for training purposes. They can set the engines on fire, create different situations,” he adds.

As a recent recruit, Mr Nankervis came to the role via the Air Force, where he held a “nearly identical role”.

Like urban firefighting units, gaining employment as an aviation firefighter is a highly competitive business.

“It took me awhile to get in though, like eight or nine years. It’s not something you can just walk into,” Mr Nankervis says. “Having your first aid and senior first aid and heavy rigid licences definitely helps.”

Aspiring aviation firefighters need to have a good mix of physical skills and mental aptitude including a solid grasp of maths, English and mechanics. “I think life experience is good too.”

New recruits generally complete ten weeks of initial training followed by extensive on-the-job training.

Would-be airport firefighters must be comfortable working with heights of up to 24 metres, able to work in extreme heat of up to 200 degrees Celsius, work in confined places and, for most Australian airports, be a reasonable swimmer in order to perform water rescue.

When asked about the best part of his job, Mr Nankervis says “the roster is fantastic [but most of all] I love getting into massive trucks and rolling along.”

There’s also the thrill of not knowing what lies in wait when an alarm sounds.

“It never gets boring no matter how many times you do it,” Mr Nankervis says.

Visit the Airservices Australia website for more information.