Training and exercises
In order to be permanently prepared to tackle every possible disaster in a fast and effective manner, the fire service at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has a realistic and advanced training site including a life-sized training aircraft known as the FireFly. The FireFly consists of a steel aircraft body and the wings of a Boeing 747 with an MD11 tail. This training aircraft has an upper deck, a passenger deck and a cargo hold and contains all the facilities that are present in a real aircraft, such as a cockpit, a kitchen, toilets and compartments for the storage of hand baggage. This layout makes it possible to carry out fire fighting exercises on small aircraft fires, such as a fire in a kitchen or a toilet, as well as on more serious fires, such as a spreading fire on the passenger deck, in a realistic manner. The largest fire that can be simulated using the FireFly at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is one that would be caused by a crash in which the wings break and the fuel tanks catch fire. In this case the flames are more than ten metres high and the total 'fire' covers a surface area of 860 m2. The fire training site uses gas to ignite the fires and is therefore much more environmentally friendly than fire training sites where the fire is fuelled by diesel.
We offer regional emergency services the opportunity to train at this site together with the fire service of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in order to learn how to tackle potential disasters at and around Schiphol. Other training objects constructed for the purpose of extinguishing other types of fires, such as fire screens and tanker or vehicle fires, are also present at the site of the FireFly.
In addition to the employees of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Safety Training Centre has various external clients, including airlines, company fire services and municipal fire services.
Activities on behalf of external parties
The VTC organises various safety training courses for employees of non-professional and professional emergency services. Examples of these include:
- Emergency Response Training (introductory and refresher courses)
- Background knowledge on fire and fire fighting skills for Cabin-crew instructors
- Aircraft fire fighting on 'small airfields' (introductory and refresher courses)
- Custom-made training courses in the field of safety and fire
- Basic fire-fighter training
- Fire fighting modules for fire-fighters and deputy chief fire-fighters
- Helicopter fire fighting training (introductory and refresher courses)
Expertise
The VTC has in-house expertise in the field of:
- Crisis management at Schiphol
- Safety-related training courses (geared towards Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)
- Training courses in the field of (aircraft) fire fighting.
Facilities
The VTC has a range of facilities including a training aircraft, named the 'FireFly', which is used to simulate various external and internal fires in different scenarios for the purpose of training fire-fighters to tackle both aircraft and building fires. In addition, the VTC has its own 'fire training street' equipped with a firewall, aircraft jet engine, aircraft propeller engine, tankers, cars, training containers for exercises using small extinguishing agents and various training vehicles.
Would you like to now more about the possibilities?
For more information about the possibilities, contact:
Els Mak (Training Coordinator) on tel. +31(0)20-6012338, or
René Verjans (Crisis Management and Training Manager) on tel. +31(0)20-6013830, or visit VTC@schiphol.nl.
Contact details:
The Schiphol Safety Training Centre is located on Sloterweg 432, 1171 VL Badhoevedorp, a five-minute drive from Schiphol Centrum.
Postal address
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Veiligheids Trainings Centrum
Postbus 7501, postlocatie 07-00
1118 ZG Schiphol
The Netherlands