Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Temporary Exemption

• 303.10 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome does not have to meet the requirements referred to in section 303.09 where those requirements cannot be met because of a personnel shortage or unserviceable equipment at the airport or aerodrome caused by circumstances beyond the control of its operator and a notification of the reduced level of aircraft fire-fighting service at the airport or aerodrome has been given to the appropriate air traffic control unit or flight service station for publication in a NOTAM.

• (2) When the condition described in subsection (1) continues for seven days or more, the operator of a designated airport shall, no later than seven days after the onset of the condition,

  • (a) establish a plan specifying the corrective measures that are necessary to meet the requirements of section 303.09 and the dates by which those measures shall be taken, which dates shall be as early as practicable given the circumstances; and

  • (b) submit the plan to the Minister.

• (3) The operator of a designated airport shall implement the submitted plan by the date specified in the plan.

Authorization Respecting Reduced Requirements

• 303.11 (1) The Minister may, in writing, on application by the operator of a designated airport, authorize the operator to meet the requirements set out in the table to section 303.09 for a lower critical category for fire fighting than that established for the airport pursuant to section 303.07 where that operator demonstrates that

  • (a) the critical category for fire fighting was the result of movements by unusually large commercial passenger-carrying aircraft or an unusually high number of movements by commercial passenger-carrying aircraft at the airport and either of these situations is unlikely to be repeated within the next year; or

  • (b) the number of movements by, or the size of, commercial passenger-carrying aircraft at the airport is expected to be altered in a manner that would result in a lower critical category for fire fighting.

• (2) Where a written authorization has been issued pursuant to subsection (1), the operator of the designated airport shall meet the requirements set out in the table to section 303.09 for the lower critical category for fire fighting specified in the authorization and shall ensure that

  • (a) notification of the reduced level of aircraft fire-fighting service and the period during which the level is reduced is given to the appropriate air traffic control unit or flight service station for publication in the Canada Flight Supplement and in a NOTAM, where the NOTAM is published earlier;

  • (b) procedures are established to restore the level of aircraft fire-fighting service to the previous higher level if the reduction in the number of movements by, or in the size of, commercial passenger-carrying aircraft at the airport is temporary; and

  • (c) the procedures for a reduction in the level of aircraft fire-fighting service and the procedures referred to in paragraph (b) are set out in the airport operations manual.

Adjustment to Higher Requirements

303.12 Where an increase in the number of movements by, or in the size of, commercial passenger-carrying aircraft at a designated airport results in the establishment for the airport of a higher critical category for fire fighting than the previous category, the operator of the airport shall meet the requirements for that higher category as set out in the table to section 303.09 within one year after the date of establishing the higher critical category for fire fighting.

Division III — Personnel Requirements

Minimum Personnel

303.13 During the hours of operation of the aircraft fire-fighting service, the operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall ensure that trained aircraft fire-fighting personnel are in response posture and in sufficient number to operate the aircraft fire-fighting vehicles and apply the extinguishing agents required by section 303.09.

Training of Personnel

303.14 The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall ensure that all personnel assigned to aircraft fire-fighting duties are trained in accordance with the aircraft fire-fighting standards.

Equipment and Protective Clothing

303.15 The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall provide all personnel assigned to aircraft fire-fighting duties with the equipment and protective clothing necessary to perform their duties.

Firefighter Qualifications

• 303.16 (1) No operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall permit a person to act and no person shall act as an aircraft firefighter at the airport or aerodrome unless the person has, within the previous 12 months, successfully completed the training specified in the aircraft fire-fighting standards.

• (2) The operator of a designated airport or of a participating airport or aerodrome shall

  • (a) maintain, for each aircraft firefighter, a training record containing the information specified in the aircraft fire-fighting standards;

  • (b) preserve the training record for three years after the aircraft firefighter leaves the service of the airport or aerodrome; and

  • (c) at the request of the Minister, provide the Minister with a copy of the training record.

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 shall preserve the records 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.