Where there’s smoke, there’s fire training at Kansas City’s airports

Travelers and others shouldn’t be concerned if they see a plume of smoke or what appears to be an aircraft on fire at Kansas City airports the next few days.

The Kansas City Fire Department and the Kansas City Aviation Department are going through live burn training to hone their skills and tactics in fighting aircraft fires. The training also ensures compliance with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.

Kansas City’s Fire Department Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting unit will conduct the training at both airports. They will use the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Trainer, which resembles an aircraft fuselage, to simulate aircraft fires.

The Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting unit will train with mutual aid fire departments on procedures and techniques to save lives if an aircraft crashes or incident occurs. The training includes the use of special aircraft rescue and firefighting trucks and hoses from regular fire trucks used to battle structural fires.

Training at the Downtown Airport began Tuesday and continues Wednesday on the west side of the airfield near the control tower.

The training at KCI will take place at the U.S. Post Office at 3 p.m. Friday to Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday through next Wednesday.

Funded by the FAA and the Missouri Department of Transportation, the operation of the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Trainer is coordinated by the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire training at Kansas City’s airports."