Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Edward Deleon Guerrero said the ARFF continues to be a pride for the Northern Marianas because it shows that despite the islands’ aging airport facilities, its aviation personnel are recognized as capable of dealing with emergency situations and are knowledgeable enough to train others in the region.
“As you know, CPA has been assisting the Micronesian airports for quite some time now. We have six airports in Micronesia — Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kosrae, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Yap. CPA has been assisting them in terms of their training requirements and now, we’re helping in developing their operational manual. We’ve been contacted by the FAA to do that,” Deleon Guerrero told the Variety in an interview.
He said part of that training involves getting certified at the Saipan-based ARFF regional training center.
“We train Micronesian airport firefighters. Sometimes, we also have participants from Guam. They don’t have this. We do and that’s somewhat of a pride for us,” he added.
Only Saipan and Hawaii have instructors authorized by the FAA to train airport firefighters.
The $17 million contract to renovate the ARFF was awarded to GPPC, Inc.
Deleon Guerrero said the Notice to Proceed, or NTP, to begin the project’s construction phase will soon be issued to GPPC.
“That contract is $17 million but it may go down a bit because we’re reducing the original scope of work,” he said.
The new ARFF regional facility will be two-story and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
“We will have a new tower control. New classrooms and a two-story structure so that firefighters can actually train in that setting,” the CPA executive director said.
A mock plane is also part of the design.
The ARFF was first built in 2004 through funding from the FAA.
In 2006, the FAA gave its disaster drill program a grade of A+.
Airport disaster drill is a requirement for all U.S.-certified airports.
