Fire causes airport evacuation
(CNS): A small blaze at Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman led to the evacuation of the entire terminal shortly before 3:00 Sunday afternoon, 7 March, for approximately one hour after smoke was detected by airport security, the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) has confirmed. The CIAA says that although the exact location of the fire was not immediately known, passengers and airport personnel were requested to evacuate the terminal.
Air Traffic Services immediately informed the Cayman Islands Fire Service, who responded to the scene within one minute. Within a short time fire officers located the small electrical fire, which was in a non-passenger area, in an enclosed wooden section of the A-Frame breezeway on the second floor. Once the electrical power was isolated by airport electricians in the presence of CUC personnel, the small blaze which was contained within the wooden structure was quickly extinguished. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Airport operations were resumed at approximately 4:00 pm and the estimated 500 passengers who were evacuated were allowed to return to the terminal to complete the check-in process or to be re-screened before returning to the Departure Hall. Approximately three international flights were affected and scheduled departures were delayed between 15-30 minutes.
The CIAA says it regrets the inconvenience to passengers and other airport users and thanks the Cayman Islands Fire Service and CUC personnel for their prompt response and assistance at the terminal.
Category: Headline News
There are emergency evacuation procedures for the airport and as recently as last month’s earthquake, these were implemented. For the blogger who claims to have worked there 4 years and never seen a fire drill, does he/she work 24/7/365? I recall a fire drill about two years ago, maybe more recently.
What a close call! However the comment about there being no emergency protocal at Grand Cayman airport shows that a protocol should be made.
This could have been a potentially deadly situation if the fire had started in an area with more people and unable to evacuate. It was a bit chaotic and there should be a full report about it as to how it was dealt with as now all those people inconvenienced by the delay will take that information home. Unfortunately, rumour is that the new CEO of the Airport did not even bother to show up to take stock of the situation.