Section 7, Chapter 4 - Training & Testing

Question 1

When and how are emergency telephone lines tested?

Answer 1

Emergency telephone lines are tested as follows:

• CRASH Line: Tested by the RFFS at the commencement of each of their shifts.
• CTRL CENTRE Line: Tested by the BIA Operations Control Centre at the commencement of their shift changeover, approximately 0700 (local) daily.

Question 2

What are the procedures for routine testing of emergency alarms and communications checks?

Answer 2

Frequency: Each Friday morning.

Responsibility: The duty Watch Manager ensures a practice emergency call is carried out with the RFFS and the BIA Operations Control Centre.

Types of Emergencies to Simulate:

• Aircraft Ground Incident
• Aircraft Accident
• Full Emergency
• Local Standby

Execution:

• The exercise is carried out by an ATCO in a live operational position.
• The incident message shall be passed on the appropriate emergency line in the following format:
• “Airport Communications Check - do not deploy forces, I say again Airport Communications Check - do not deploy forces ……. [rest of message]”
• RFFS and BIAL staff will read back the message to the ATCO immediately.
• An entry shall be made in the left page of the ADC log book indicating whether or not the check was satisfactory.

Retesting:

• If there are significant differences in the message content from initiation to completion, ATC may initiate a new message to fully retest the procedure.
• The Station Commander/ADM should be advised as appropriate.

Note: ATCOs should carry out additional communications checks as part of ongoing professional development whenever they consider it necessary.

Question 3

What are the procedures for practice RFFS call-outs?

Answer 3

Procedures for practice RFFS call-outs:

Coordination:

• These exercises will be coordinated between the RFFS Station Commander and ADC to be carried out at a suitable time for both ATC and RFFS.

Initiating the Message:

• The message is initiated on the “Crash” line in the following format:
• “Practice call-out, I say again, practice call-out [state the location on the airfield the fire vehicles are to attend]”

Logging Response Times:

• An entry should be made in the ADC log with the following details:
• The time the call-out was initiated.
• The time the first fire vehicle arrives in position.
• The time the last fire vehicle arrives in position.