Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Division IV — Response Readiness

Personnel Readiness

303.17 The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall ensure that, during the hours of operation of its aircraft fire-fighting service, of the fire-fighting personnel required to be available pursuant to section 303.13, the number of personnel capable of immediate response is sufficient to meet the requirements of the response test referred to in section 303.18.

Response Test

• 303.18 (1) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall carry out a response test to evaluate the response time and effectiveness of the aircraft fire-fighting service required to be maintained during the hours of operation specified in section 303.04

  • (a) every 12 months; and

  • (b) at any time at the request of the Minister, where the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft fire-fighting service at the airport or aerodrome does not meet the requirements of this Subpart.

• (2) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall give the Minister at least four weeks written notice of the date on which a response test is to be carried out.

• (3) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall provide the Minister with a copy of the results of a response test within 14 days after the date of the test.

• (4) A response test at a designated airport or at a participating airport or aerodrome has a satisfactory result if

  • (a) within three minutes after an alarm is sounded, aircraft fire-fighting vehicles in a number sufficient for applying the principal extinguishing agent at 50 per cent of the total discharge capacity required by section 303.09 are dispatched from their assigned position and, under optimum surface and visibility conditions at the airport or aerodrome, reach the midpoint of the farthest runway serving commercial passenger-carrying aircraft, or another predetermined point of comparable distance and terrain; and

  • (b) within four minutes after the alarm is sounded, any other aircraft fire-fighting vehicle required by section 303.09 reaches the location referred to in paragraph (a).

• (5) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall record the results of a response test and keep the record for two years after the date of the test.

• (6) If a response test does not have a satisfactory result, the operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall

  • (a) within six hours after the test, identify the deficiencies that caused the result and notify the appropriate air traffic control unit or flight service of the critical category for fire fighting that corresponds to the level of service that can be provided, for publication in a NOTAM; and

  • (b) within seven days after the test, if any deficiency is not corrected, submit a plan to the Minister specifying the measures necessary to obtain a satisfactory result and the dates by which they must be taken, which shall be as early as practicable given the circumstances.

• (7) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall implement the submitted plan by the dates specified in the plan.

Division V — Communication and Alerting System

Requirement

303.19 The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall provide a communication and alerting system that meets the aircraft fire-fighting standards.

Transitional Provisions

• 303.20 (1) The operator of a designated airport shall

  • (a) until November 30, 1998, except in respect of aircraft referred to in subsection 303.04(2), maintain the aircraft fire-fighting service that was provided on November 30, 1997; and

  • (b) effective December 1, 1998, meet the requirements for an aircraft fire-fighting service prescribed in subsections 303.03(1) and 303.04(1) and sections 303.07 to 303.19.

• (2) The operator of a participating airport or aerodrome shall, effective December 1, 1998, meet the requirements for an aircraft fire-fighting service prescribed in subsections 303.03(2) and 303.04(4), sections 303.08 and 303.09, subsection 303.10(1) and sections 303.13 to 303.19.