Aircraft Rescue

The Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Trainer (MAFT) will provide an opportunity for Airport Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) to “Train as They’ll Fight.” (Link to Aircraft Rescue Firefighting brochure in PDF - 950 KB). Funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the operation of the MAFT is coordinated by the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute.

Training with the MAFT allows ARFF personnel to train with their equipment and standard operating procedures. By training at home, ARFF personnel can train with mutual aid fire departments and learn together the procedures and techniques needed to save lives when an aircraft accident/incident occurs.

Financial Benefit

Your training budget will get more for the dollar by using this training unit. When the training is done at the organization’s airport; overtime, airfare, mileage, lodging and per diem costs are drastically reduced or eliminated.

The MAFT is capable of producing a wide range of realistic training scenarios including a fully engulfed aircraft, a forcible entry situation or a 2,600 square foot fuel spill burn area. The MAFT incorporates a 50-foot aircraft fuselage to challenge the aircraft rescue fire fighters.

The unit is designed and constructed to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular 150/5220-17A, Change 1, Design Standards for an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Training Facility. The Fire Fighter training is conducted as outlined in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5210-17, Federal Aviation Regulation Part 139.319 and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1003, Standard for Airport Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, 2000 Edition.

Standard features include:

Fuselage fires
High wing engine fire
Cargo fire
Galley fire
Wheel fire
Flashover simulator
Battery compartment
Three sacrificial cut in panels for saws, piercing nozzle or forcible extrication
Low wing engine fire
2600 square feet of fuel spill burn area
Tail engine fire
Passenger compartment fire
Flight deck fire
Exploding tire simulator
Military ordinance
Smoke machine
145 and 115 lb. rescue mannequins
Overwing entry and egress for fire fighting and rescue operations
Liquid oxygen compartment

Each location that desires training with the MAFT can work with other organizations in the local area to share the cost. Some examples are airports, city fire departments, fire protection districts or businesses. This is beneficial for an area with three airports in need of training but are unable to fund it themselves. The three airports could agree on a training schedule and host the unit once at each airport utilizing a three-year rotational schedule.