From the Flight Deck

A familiar sight filled the tarmac at Marshfield Municipal Airport this week. A couple of times, in fact. Marshfield Fire Department held its annual training at the 75-year-old airport, with more sessions set for the next week.

Shoreline Aviation Inc. President Keith Douglass welcomed the airport guests – most of whom have made multiple visits over the years. They repeat the exercise annually to ensure that the department knows all the ins and outs should any emergency services be necessary.

“Four groups visit over two weeks so all firefighters have first-hand knowledge and insight into how everything is set up,” Douglass explained.

Shoreline Aviation President Keith Douglass, white shirt; Airport Assistant Manager Ben Garman, yellow shirt; and Airport Manager Jason Tibbetts, blue shirt, explain Marshfield Municipal Airport’s setup to town firefighters.

Shoreline Aviation (www.shorelineaviation.net) operates the airport for the town and has for 42 years. The town has owned it since 1967. The history of the airport can be found here: www.shorelineaviation.net/fbo/marshfield-airport-kghg-2.

A tour of the property was conducted by Airport Manager Jason Tibbetts and Assistant Manager Ben Garman.

The visits establish familiarity with the physical layout of the airport as well as how the airport operates, Garman said. “We go over the various points of access to the airport where all the access gates are and how they operate in case of an emergency.”

Marshfield Fire Department personnel visit with all types of vehicles that might be used in an airport emergency.

MFD (www.marshfield-ma.gov/marshfield-fire-department) has access to all of the several primary and emergency gates surrounding the fenced-in airport.

Tibbetts and Garman explained the differences between the two basic types of aircraft they generally see – piston powered aircraft running on aviation gasoline and jet powered aircraft running on jet fuel.

Marshfield Municipal Airport Assistant Manager Ben Garman describes differences in aircraft types.

“I also explain the different types of fire suppression equipment that each aircraft type will typically have on board,” Garman said. “We take them into the hangers and show them where all our fire extinguishers are and fire suppression equipment is that we have on the field.”

The managers took their guests to the fuel farm – which went into service in 2019 and features the latest safety technology – where they explained how Shoreline’s fuel trucks are filled and show them where all the emergency shutoffs are for the fuel tanks. They also demonstrate how the fuel trucks are filled and how their emergency shutoffs operate.

Marshfield Municipal Airport’s state of the art fuel farm opened in 2019.

“Lastly, we will ensure they have the proper keys and access cards to access the airport off hours,” Garman said.

The whole point of the visit is to ensure that MFD personnel are versed in how to access the airport and carry out safety measures in the unlikely event of an emergency – 24/7, 365.

As one firefighter said, “I’ve been here many times, but it can’t hurt to refresh our memories every year. This is very helpful.”