TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Web Only Document 12: Risk Assessment of Proposed ARFF Standards explores air carrier passenger aircraft accidents to help determine if changes to Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) standards would have reduced the number of fatalities or serious injuries that resulted from past accidents.

The report compares standards set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration in 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 139, Certification of Airports with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Annex 14 and standards set forth by the National Fire Protection Association in making determinations of reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries associated with each accident.

In the United States ARFF is only required at airports subject to 14 CFR Part 139 and may not exist at non-Part 139 airports including general aviation airports. Generally, airports serving scheduled air carrier passenger operations with more than nine passenger seats and unscheduled air carrier passenger service with more than 30 seats are required to have a Part 139 certificate.