RAF Shawbury aircraft blaze puts fire crews through their paces - with pictures and video
It would be the sort of accident that would stretch the emergency services to the limit.
Casualties could being lying injured amid the flames and smoke if an aircraft caught fire.
But, thankfully for these firefighters from Market Drayton Fire Station, this was just part of a training exercise.
But all those involved knew that one day their skills could be called on in a similar scenario.
The crew attended RAF Shawbury this week to allow them to practice their skills in dealing with a fire involving an aircraft utilising foam.
A statement on behalf of the crew from Market Drayton said: “The crew were able to practice extinguishing a real fire, on a purpose built simulator using both hose reels and main jets.
“The simulator is designed to replicate both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
“Firefighting foam is primarily used to extinguish liquid fuel fires, and fires involving oil, because it is lighter than the burning liquid, it flows freely over the liquids surface and extinguishes the fire by a smothering action.
“Once crews had completed the firefighting session, they undertook a familiarisation session in emergency procedures and the rescue of air crew, from both the Squirrel HT Mk1 and Griffin HT1 helicopters. These helicopters are located at RAF Shawbury and are used by the defence flying school to train new pilots for all three military services.
“These helicopters can be seen in the air around Shropshire on a nearly daily basis while training, so it is important for crews to have a good operational understanding in how to deal with an incident involving them.”
It added: “We would like give our thanks to RAF Shawbury for hosting and providing our training session, and in particular the personnel of the fire section for their assistance.”
