Members of the Palo Alto Fire Department participated in an aircraft-fire training session, along with the NASA Ames Research Center Fire Department, on Oct. 6, 8 and 9.
The session was held at Moffett Federal Airfield using a propane-fueled training aircraft supplied by Kellogg Community College of Battle Creek, Mich. Firefighters were exposed to a variety of realistic scenarios that could occur during an aircraft fire.
“The training aircraft can be used to simulate fires caused by flammable liquid spills, engines, interior cabins, wheel brakes and auxiliary power units,” according to a press release by NASA Ames.
Palo Alto firefighters were particularly motivated to participate in the training due to the February incident in which a plane crashed into an East Palo Alto neighborhood, killing three people, knocking out power to the city of Palo Alto and causing structural fire damage.