Outdated airport emergency plan causing confusion, says Labrador City fire chief

After a plane with a faulty engine was forced to land in Wabush last week, Labrador City's fire chief is questioning the effectiveness of the airport's emergency plan.

Labrador City Fire and Rescue Chief Joe Power says there was no airport leadership on scene Jan. 19 when his team and other responders arrived to assist with the emergency landing. The plane had landed safely with no apparent signs of damage, said Power, and 30 minutes went by without any direction.

"There is an emergency plan in place, but you have heard the old saying … 'it's not worth the paper it's written on,'" Power told CBC News.

No one on the plane, a Beechcraft carrying 17 passengers, was injured, said Power. But the lack of direction meant the responders — including the Wabush fire department, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Labrador-Grenfell Health, and security personnel from the Iron Ore Company of Canada — were tied up for "no reason," he said.

He said the lack of communication and organization has him questioning whether he should respond to future calls.

"We want to help our residents, but Transport Canada is putting us in a situation that's probably not going to leave us a choice at the end of the day."

The Labrador City fire chief said he felt compelled to speak out after Transport Canada told CBC News following the incident that conditions at Wabush airport are safe, a sentiment he disagrees with.

When the current plan was put in place, in early 2013, rescue and firefighting services were provided by Protec for Transport Canada, with Labrador City's fire department part of a "mutual aid team" to assist those services, by relaying water and providing other resources.

But passenger traffic plunged under the COVID-19 pandemic — with Air Canada pulling out of the airport in April 2020 — and with the airport not meeting the 180,000-passenger threshold required by Transport Canada to maintain services, they were halted on Aug. 8, 2020.

The problem, says Power, is the emergency plan hasn't been updated.

"That plan hasn't changed but I don't know who we are relaying water to," he said.

The CBC has asked all parties involved for comment on the incident.

In response to Power's concerns, a Transport Canada representative provided a statement that said the Wabush airport emergency response plan is being updated.

"Once the plan is finalized, it will be shared with the community," says the statement. "Transport Canada will continue to maintain a dialogue with all interested stakeholders on any issue affecting airport operations."