Summary
"This is the first time I've been out of my house in a while. I just got a bunch of plates and pins put in me," he says, hurtling towards the departure gate. "I had six bones sticking out of my arm, and eight bones sticking out of my leg," he says. "I haven't been home since."
For the firefighters at the airport's Emergency Response Service, the memory of Swissair 111's crash in 1998 at Peggy's Cove, N.S., is a constant reminder to remain alert. Sixteen firefighters work here in shifts of four around the clock, based in a small building on the southwestern corner of the airport's property."This place clears out in seconds," says Capt. Jim Abram, who heads the crew. "Everybody is trained to think in those terms. ... Our training is always for the worst-case scenario, and our response is always for the worst-case scenario. We start at 'this is the worst thing that can happen,' and as the incident progresses, we step back from there. Whenever a plane declares an emergency, we assume it's going to crash. We keep eliminating until we can stand the incident down."See the full content of this document
Extract
A Day at the Airport
The Winnipeg Airports Authority is a staggeringly complex operation that employs about 9,300 Manitobans -- similar to the population of Winkler.
The people who work at the airport call it a "city within a city."Free Press reporter Gabrielle Giroday spent 24 hours behind the scenes at the airport last week, speaking to dozens of airport workers and travellers. They were among the estimated 75,000 people who flew to or from the airport during one of the facility's busiest weeks. Thursday, 11 a.m., airport terminal, main floorPassengers swing by in an endless stream as a lineup for coffee snakes behind Glenn Poole, but the furthest thing from his mind is a steaming hot beverage or a tropical de...See the full content of this document
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