Department Profile – Gerald R. Ford Int’l Airport

By: Robert Pastoor

About Gerald R. Ford International Airport:

Gerald R. Ford international airport (GRR) is an FAA Index “C” Airport – GRR is managed and operated by the GFIA Airport Authority.

  • GRR has 3 Runways:

(8R/26L – 10,000 Feet)

(8L/26R – 5,000 Feet)

(17/ 35 – 8,501 Feet)

  • Served by 6 Passenger Airlines with 120 scheduled flights daily.
  • Approximately 7,500 Travelers arrive and depart per day – 3.2 million per year
  • 250,000 pounds of cargo pass through the airport daily.
  • There are 2 schools on the airport;
    • Kent Career/ Tech Center which includes the Aeronautics Education Lab Program, Maintenance Tech and Avionics Tech
    • West Michigan Aviation Academy (Public Charter High School).
  • Ford Airport is the 2nd busiest Airport in Michigan behind Detroit Metro.
  • The Airport was opened at its current location on November 23, 1963 and in December of 1999 the Airport was named in honor of our 38th President and Grand Rapids native, Gerald R. Ford.
  • Since 2008 Air Force One and Air Force Two have visited GRR 12 times.
  • On July 31, 1926, the 1st regularly scheduled airline service began from GRR to DET.
  • In an “average winter” we remove approximately 84 million cubic feet of snow from the airfield. That’s enough to fill 20,000 Olympic- sized swimming pools.
  • There are 2,000 acres of grass to mow around the airfield. This is the equivalent of 1,515 football fields- including the end zones!
  • Over 2,000 people work at the airport.
  •  More than 10 corporate flight departments call GRR home, including Amway, considered one of the largest corporate flight departments in the U.S. and Aero Med a medical transport service with 3 helicopters and a King Air fixed wing aircraft.
  • In 2015 GRR began operating a new $20 million storm water/glycol treatment system. In 2018 this system was the winner of the Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award for this innovative and sustainable storm water and deicing treatment system. 

Early Beginnings

The first airport to serve the Grand Rapids area was located about 4 miles from downtown Grand Rapids at the West Michigan fairgrounds in Comstock Park in 1919. By 1926,

to accommodate the growing needs of the area, the airport was moved to the location that is now Madison Ave. and 32nd St. The airport was officially named after Daniel Waters Cassard, a local World War I Army Air corps pilot, who was killed in action over France. The name Kent County Airport is more commonly used and by 1963 the airport was again moved due to ever growing needs. The airport’s third, and final move, to its current location was officially made on November 23, 1963. The airport has always operated under the direction and ownership of Kent County and the Kent County department of Aeronautics, however in 2016 it was decided that it was time for the airport to become an independent authority separate from the County. So officially on July 1st, 2016 the airport began operating as the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority.

Grand Rapids Facts

  • Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second largest city, with a metro-wide population of 1.4 million.
  • Ottawa Indians were Grand Rapids first inhabitants, around 1700 AD.
  • The city’s name comes from the Grand River, Michigan’s largest inland river.
  • Grand Rapids was once known as America’s Furniture Capital. Today it is a center of office furniture manufacturing.
  • Grand Rapids is home to many national and international  corporations, including Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, Alticor (formerly Amway) Wolverine World Wide, Meijer and Zondervan.
  • Grand Rapids was the 1st city in the U.S. to add fluoride to its drinking water in 1945.
  • Gypsum (plaster) mining was the area’sfirst major industry.
  • Michigan is 2nd only to California in agricultural diversity and West Michigan produces 85% of all crops harvested in Michigan.
  • Grand Rapids is home to ArtPrize, the world’s most open art competition.
  • While in Grand Rapids, you are never far from a body of water, making us the 6th best fishing city in America (Field& Stream, 2006).
  • National Geographic Adventure Magazine called us one of America’s best waterfront towns, because we’re just minutes away from Lake Michigan. The editors of Conde` Nast Traveler magazine called the Lake Michigan shoreline one of the world’s top 25.
  • There is a robust craft brewery scene earning it the designation “Beer City USA.”

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting History GRR

As Grand Rapids and the west Michigan area continue to grow, the Ford Airport must continue to grow also. The airport’s latest master plan includes a new control tower, a third concourse and new fire station.

In the early 1930’s the airport realized the need for certain safety upgrades and purchased its first fire apparatus. It is unclear who exactly manned the fire apparatus at this time but from photographs and old press clippings it can be assumed it was airport maintenance or even office personnel and airline employees. From a Grand Rapids Herald press article, dated June 17, 1956, we are told that the fire department operated two firefighting jeeps, and a 19-ton fire-crash truck that held three tons of liquid carbon dioxide and 500 gallons of fog foam.  In 1963, when the airport was moved to its current location, it continued the practice of using assorted airport personnel to man its fire apparatus and provide rescue services. It is unclear of the exact date when the airport stopped using non-firefighter personnel for its fire department, but eventually, airport management did make the move to use only airport police and a few dedicated firefighters. Eventually the airport leadership recognized that a stand-alone fire department (ARFF) was needed for the fast-growing Grand Rapids airport and so sometime in the early 1980’s the department transitioned to all professional firefighters only. During this time the ARFF department was able to build a live fire pit on the airport grounds and in 1984 hosted a Crash/ Fire / Rescue School.

Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Section

The ARFF section is housed in a 22,000-square-foot facility located just east of the airport passenger terminal building. Out of this facility, the department operates the following list of equipment:

  • The ARFF Section currently operates 3 ARFF rigs: 2 Oshkosh and 1 Rosenbauer, each carrying 1,500 gallons of water, 200 gallons of firefighting foam, and 500 pounds of dry chemical agent.
  • One rescue vehicle, a Ford F-350 4X4 pickup that carries emergency medical equipment. A CET portable fire pump with a Honda 18hp V-Twin engine and 200-gallon water tank with a 40-gallon AFFF foam tank. This truck also serves as the command vehicle for ARFF incidents.
  • A 1992 “Car Mate” Hazmat Trailer.

The ARFF station includes a wash bay and overhead fill stations, a computer-based training center, conference room, sleeping quarters, kitchen area, fitness area, laundry room, and public restrooms. The current ARFF headquarters at one time housed both the airport fire section and all of their equipment as well as the field maintenance department with their snowplows and grass mowing vehicles. In 2001 a new building was constructed on the south side of the airport for field maintenance and the old building was remodeled at a cost of $1.4 million to house the ARFF department exclusively.

Aircraft Rescue Firefighters
The ARFF section is comprised of one chief, 3 captains, and 12 firefighters. The section is divided into three crews of five each working 24-hour shifts, 7 days a week 365 days a year. They respond to roughly 200 – 250 calls a year, nearly two-thirds of which are medical emergency calls on the airport. All members of the ARFF section are certified by the Michigan Office of Fire Fighter Training (OFFT) as Firefighter I and II, and to the Hazardous Materials Operation level. They are licensed by the State of Michigan Department of Community Health as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT- B). All qualified firefighters have earned or will earn the Airport Master Firefighter designation from the American Association of Airport Executives, along with having 80 hours of advanced training from one of the FAA-approved Regional Training Facilities throughout the country. GRR ARFF fire fighters also conduct numerous fire station tours and apparatus demonstrations for the community throughout the year. American Heart Association CPR/AED training is also offered to all airport tenets for only the cost of materials. Live fire and fire extinguisher training utilizing a portable burn pan is also available to all airport tenants.  ARFF staff oversees all FBO fueling operations and training including fire extinguisher hands on training in accordance with FAA regulations. ARFF staff are also responsible for overseeing all airport building inspections including building sprinkler systems and airport owned fire extinguisher checks.

ARFF Equipment

R-1                  2009 Ford F-350 4X4 SD

Command Vehicle/ Medical Response/ Fire
C.E.T. Portable Fire Pump with a Honda 18hp V- Twin engine
200 gallon water tank and 30 gallons of AFFF foam.

R-2                  2008 Oshkosh Striker 1500

Caterpillar C-16 Diesel 680 hp
1500 gallons water/ 205 gallons foam/ 1950 gpm at 240psi
Acceleration 0-70/ 25 Seconds
500lbs of Purple K dry chemical
FLIR thermal imaging camera
Ventilation Fan/ Reciprocating Saw

R-3                              2013 Oshkosh Striker 1500

Caterpillar C-16 Diesel 680 hp        
1500 gallons water/205 gallons foam/ 1950 gpm at 240psi
Acceleration 0-70/25 Seconds
500lbs of Purple K dry chemical
FLIR thermal imaging camera
AMKUS Extrication Equipment

R-4                              2015 Rosenbauer Panther

Detroit Diesel Series 60 760hp
1500 gallons water/200 gallons foam/ 1850 gpm
Acceleration 0-70/25 seconds
500lbs Purple K dry chemical
FLIR thermal imaging camera

Hazmat Trailer                                               1992 Car Mate

55 gallon drum with oil dry
11 bags of oil dry
Push brooms/shovels
Mini-booms
Oil absorbent Pillow and pads
3’ and 4’ storm drain shut off tool
About the Author:  Robert Pastoor, AMF, EMT, has been involved in aviation for over 30 years.  After obtaining his private pilot license, he continued to work around aircraft as a professional Line service technician for 17 years. He started his firefighting career as a paid-on-call fire fighter before transitioning to the GFIAA ARFF in 2002 as a fulltime career. He is still active as a paid-on-call firefighter for Courtland Township and is an AHA certified CPR instructor.  Rob has 3 daughters with the oldest being a full-time firefighter for the city of Muskegon, Mi.