When a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis crashed at Pearson Airport in Toronto Monday, IAFF members responded quickly to douse the burning wreckage while flight crews evacuated 76 passengers.
A video posted online showed the plane, attempting to land in blustery conditions, bursting into flames after striking the runway before flipping upside down. Other videos showed flight crews evacuating passengers while fire fighters from Pearson Airport Local 4382 doused the burning fuselage. Fire fighters from nearby Mississauga Local 1212 responded to the airport to provide mutual aid.
Several passengers were transported to hospital with injuries but miraculously, there were no fatalities.
In a social media post Monday, General President Edward Kelly saluted the professionalism of flight crews who quickly evacuated the inverted aircraft. “It’s a testament to their training, and it made a difference today in Toronto,” he said, also recognizing the IAFF members who responded.
The accident was a stark reminder that routine aviation movements can become dangerous in an instant. In Canada, the IAFF is lobbying the federal government to strengthen airport fire fighting regulations by bringing them up to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, which specify rescue as a required function of airport fire fighters and include greater personnel requirements and faster response times.
