Ask any tradesman and they'll tell you, having the right tool is essential for any job.

And when your job is to maintain levels of safety for two airport facilities covering an area of more than fifteen-thousand acres, that toolset certainly includes everything from equipment to training.

This simple and important fact is why two recent announcements from the Houston Fire Department’s Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) team are making news within the Houston Airport System (HAS).

First, a new vehicle has recently joined the fleet at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and it's a vehicle that's already had a dramatic impact on the fire fighting operation.

The "A-R-15" response vehicle is quite a bit smaller than most of its counterparts, but then again, that's precisely the point.

"There are so many nooks and crannies when you're talking about a space this large," says Kelly Morris with the ARFF team at IAH. "We didn't even know about all of these tighter spaces until we got a vehicle that was mobile enough to allow us to get out there and explore."

These "tighter spaces" include tucked-away corners in areas such as the parking facilities and baggage conveyor systems, areas that are almost impossible to access using the traditional larger tanker trucks operated by ARFF personnel.

In the past, non-life-threatening calls such as vehicle engine fires, have proven particularly troublesome, simply because of the issue of access.

But now that a smaller fire fighting vehicle is included in the fleet, those hurdles are a thing of the past.

"When you deal with any type of emergency, quick response is the name of the game," says Morris. "What this vehicle allows us to do is to get down to the seat of the fire the quickest."

Of course a speedy arrival doesn’t do much good unless it’s followed up with expertise and know-how, which is why specialized training plays such a key role in the day to day life of an ARFF member.