Mangaluru : The Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) unit of Mangaluru International Airport on 22 February organized the first of three-capacity building programme session for the stakeholder agencies. The ARFF is organizing these sessions in the run up to the full-scale aerodrome emergency exercise planned together with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for 4th May 2022.

Twenty-one personnel from Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSF&ES) led by the district fire officer and seven personnel from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) attended the first session. Under this initiative, the KSF&ES and SDRF personnel will be familiarized with the topography and layout of the airport, to help them meet any exigency.

The ARFF unit will take the remaining personnel at KSF&ES and SDRF through the familiarization process in the other sessions that will be held in due course. The district fire and emergency services and their counterparts from other industrial units, as well as the SDRF act as first supporters in case of any emergency at the airport and familiarization is an important facet for them to function as a cohesive unit.

The ARFF unit at MIA will also conduct a similar capacity building programme for the fire and emergency response units of major industries in the vicinity. This initiative further reinforces the commitment of Mangaluru International Airport to meet professional standards aimed at strengthening and consolidating safety processes to ensure that the airport lives up to its commitment of being the #GatewayToGoodness.