Lubbock Fire Rescue trains with simulated live plane fire

LUBBOCK, Texas — When a Southwest Airlines flight had an engine failure at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in April, the Station 11 fire crew made it to the scene immediately to make sure everyone, including the plane, was safe.

The station has crew members present at every moment to keep everyone flying in and out of the international airport safe.

EverythingLubbock.com met up with the station’s crew on Thursday, May 2 to get a look into the training they go through to prepare for worst-case scenarios, such as a plane catching fire.

On Thursday, they attacked flames that bloomed out of an airplane prop they use for training.

“This plane is really mimicking a commercial aircraft,” Derek Delgado, who is the Public Information Officer for Lubbock Fire Rescue said. “It really just simulates what could possibly happen in real life.”

The crew has been training all week, with each member accumulating about forty hours in the classroom and out at the live simulated fires. Their plane prop and training facility is one of three in the country, which means fire crews from other states travel to Lubbock just to practice on it.

“We could put a fire in the engine, we could put a fire in the rear cabin, or we can put it in the front of the plane,” Delgado said about the simulated fires.

Delgado said the crew takes the training seriously as if the situation were real. While the firefighters at Station 11 don’t get calls about a plane fire often, when they do – it has the potential to be major, which makes practice crucial for the crew.

“If a fire were to get access to those tanks in this airliner, that would be the reality the reality of it,” Delgado said. “So, we have the equipment, we have the personnel that are trained and equipped to respond and do it safely.”

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