Manchester Airport, International Fire Training Centre (IFTC) to partner on firefighter training courses

2013-06-05 — /travelprnews.com/ — Manchester Airport is set to become a training partner with the International Fire Training Centre (IFTC) and host firefighter training courses at the airport from next week.

Together, the two businesses will deliver training to airport fire and rescue services and in doing so, they aim to deliver real benefits to the market. New courses are being launched to enhance the existing curriculum and offer clients access to new skills delivered by experts in an environment that enhances learning.

IFTC will send its instructors to the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) operations to ensure the team maintains its knowledge of current airport procedures and reflects that in the delivery of courses. IFTC will run agreed courses at MAG to enable both businesses to train airport fire professionals when they want and where they want.

Gary Watson, IFTC’s Business Operations Manager, said of the new deal: “IFTC and MAG have strong reputations, world class expertise and exceptional training facilities. Together we can offer customers greater choice and for that choice to be rooted in the true needs of the aviation fire and rescue community.”

The majority of fire training courses in the country are run from the IFTC in Darlington, which is recognised around the world as a centre of excellence, and Manchester Airport has been chosen as a training partner, giving firefighters the chance to train on unique facilities such as Big Rig.

Big Rig at Manchester Airport is one of the most advanced aircraft fire-training simulator in Europe and is used to ensure the fire crews hone the skills they need to put out an aircraft fire and to ensure they can handle all manner of incidents. Airport firefighters use it to practice a large number of scenarios; the simulator burns aviation fuel and gas, making it the one of the first simulators of this size with this capability in Europe.

Steve Metcalf, Manchester Airport’s Fire Service Manager, said: “We’re honoured that the IFTC has chosen our airport to run this collaborative training from. We’re a category 10 airport here in Manchester which means we can take large aircrafts such as A380’s – not every airport in the UK can do that so we can provide a level of training that others can’t. We can also provide structural fire training to large parties, utilising our facilities such as Big Rig.”

Andrew Cowan, Chief Operating Officer for Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said: “We have a high level of expertise within our airport Fire Service and by offering training courses at our facilities in conjunction with the IFTC we can assist with training firefighters from around the world.”

ENDS

For more information, contact the Manchester Airport press office on 0161 489 2700 or via email at press.office@manairport.co.uk

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