The union which represents firefighters at Wabush Airport is concerned about federal plans to eliminate a dedicated force. That would leave firefighting up to municipal departments in the region.

Ryan Connolly, shop steward for the UCTE at Wabush Airport, says it’s one of the busier airports in Atlantic Canada, servicing the mine-rich region of Labrador West and Fermont, Quebec.

The federal government is terminating service following the August 7 shift. Connolly says the big concern is response time.

He says if there’s a fire on board an aircraft, they have 90 seconds to intervene before the flames burn through the fuselage. The fire department has to make the mid-point of the runway in under three minutes.

Connolly says the fire departments in Lab City and Wabush would not be able to make it in time.