FROM MY PERSPECTIVE (CONT)
to communicate with the “outside world” even during the loss of traditional communications was very impressive. During Hurricane Helene, The National Association of Amateur Radio website stated, “amateur radio leadership has been engaged throughout the weekend with key volunteers in the Southeast, especially in hard-hit North Carolina…” In closing, the following are action items you should take before a catastrophic weather event. Review your airport emergency plan, test those plans with a tabletop exercise. Reach out to your FAA Inspector. Add more resources to your team (i.e. amateur radio operators). And when attending ARFF Working Group conferences, take note of lessons learned from other airports’ experiences. Whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime hurricane or an earthquake, always be as prepared as possible. And remember, NEVER say never! About the Author:
After you review your airport emergency plan, conduct a tabletop exercise. This will give agencies within your airport committee on emergency preparedness the opportunity to test their plans in a very controlled setting. You may want to start with a small internal tabletop exercise that only includes airport departments. This would include your airport building and janitorial maintenance departments, TSA personnel and your police and fire departments. It is important that before hosting a tabletop exercise for outside agencies, you have tested your internal plans and procedures. As a rule, airports and most airlines are not thrilled with having a full-scale exercise where hundreds of evacuees/ victims are sitting around their airport, concourses and gate areas complaining of no water or food and experiencing medical emergencies. Let us not forget that during exercise scenarios that airlines still need to operate normally. So maybe you can’t have a full-scale exercise where there is massive flooding and various infrastructures (bridges, roads, cell towers, etc.) have been washed away or rendered inoperative for days, and hundreds of evacuees have overrun your airport. However, you can have tabletop exercise with a loss of communications and power outages as a result of a devastating weather event. One resource that may be available in your area are amateur radio operators. Norfolk Airport Authority included the local chapter of the National Association of Amateur Radio on their airport committee on emergency preparedness. On several occasions amateur radio operators brought their equipment to the Airport and performed drills to illustrate their capabilities. Their ability
Charles Lavene joined the Eatontown (NJ) Volunteer Fire Department in high school, enlisted in the US Air Force, and became a Firefighter Specialist. During this 5 ½ year career, he was stations at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Comiso Air Station, Sicily, Italy, and Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA. Upon separation
from the Air Force in 1991, he began his civilian career at Norfolk International Airport. During his 28 plus years at ORF, he held the position of Firefighter, Lieutenant, Deputy Fire Chief, and Fire Chief. He recently retired as Fire Chief and can be reached at CMLavene@yahoo.com
10 MAY- JUNE 2025 | ARFF NEWS
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