But is it really needed???

Just read this and had to ask the question.... it is really needed??


Just one of the things on the hays city commission agenda


* A bid for an aircraft rescue and firefighting truck at Hays Regional Airport, in the amount of almost $568,000. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to fund 95 percent of the purchase.

Airport command, airport command.... yada yada yada.......

I guess that's what you get when you complain about the firefighters being on call for flights coming in. Which would you all prefer, having them on call, or providing a full-time unit for the airport?

I'm not directing that to you, specifically, Luke. I just remember the posts from the past regarding the issue.

Wouldn't that also serve as a second station for calls south of the railroad tracks? You you, just in case there's a long freight train and a fire at the same time.

by the time that truck from the airport reached the area south of the tracks the train would be long gone, unless for some reason they were stopped and had all the intersections from Allen st to the college crossing blocked.

I just see this as another example of wasteful spending by government from the federal govnm't all the way down to the local level.

Don't worry, Luke- 5% of $568,000 is only $28,400.

I heard the fire chief talk about this a while back, that truck wouldn't be able to help with a fire in town as there probably wouldn't be a fireman out there to man it. What I got out of the discussion, was that every time a plane takes off and lands, a fireman goes out to the airport and stands by, just in case. He then leaves. I think the truck is for a single fireman and not a whole team. I think he also said that they would have to build a new garage for the new truck which was being required by the FAA and why they are picking up 95% of the tab.

Seems like a waste of money as the truck that they use now has never been needed (again, if I remember the discussion correctly), the fire chief kind of acted like that was the case also (if I read him correctly).

Just curious,do other airports have firemen....besides big ones?

Did they wear it out with wax?

How about we use this thread to talk about things we see as wasteful by the government. I have listed one, now someone else post one.

only $28,400.00, thats only a drop in the bucket, but ya get enough drops together and next thing you know you are drowning in a flood.

Who funds The Federal Aviation Administration who will fund us??Us??

wilkykav2 wrote:

Who funds The Federal Aviation Administration who will fund us??Us??

Good point wilky, even tho it may come from an FAA budget, ultimatley it comes out of OUR pockets. Maybe someday more people will realize that before it is too late, if it's not too late already.

lilchefed wrote:

I heard the fire chief talk about this a while back, that truck wouldn't be able to help with a fire in town as there probably wouldn't be a fireman out there to man it. What I got out of the discussion, was that every time a plane takes off and lands, a fireman goes out to the airport and stands by, just in case. He then leaves. I think the truck is for a single fireman and not a whole team. I think he also said that they would have to build a new garage for the new truck which was being required by the FAA and why they are picking up 95% of the tab.

Seems like a waste of money as the truck that they use now has never been needed (again, if I remember the discussion correctly), the fire chief kind of acted like that was the case also (if I read him correctly).

It's kind of like having an ambulance at HS football games or a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. You hope you'll never need it, but if you do, it's much better to have them on scene than waiting for emergency personnel to get there. Especially with the explosive capacity of aviation fuel. I'd imagine it's some kind of federal aviation law or it's something that most airlines have in their contracts that there will be emergency measures available if needed at every landing/takeoff. This actually makes sense, even if it does seem like a waste since it's one of those measures you hope will never use and seldom are used in practice.

The way I understand it the FAA is requiring fire protection at airports that handle commercial passenger flights. If Hays owns the airport, Hays is responsible for providing the protection. It could be done differently though. It might pass with the FAA if airport staff were trained by HFD to run the equipment freeing up HFD to stay in town.

The one emergency that I know of in the past few months landed on it's own because it wasn't an expected passenger flight so no HFD personel were on scene before it landed. If Airport staff were trained as HFD volunteers someone could be there for any flight with trouble.