The chief of the Labrador City Fire Department says Wabush Airport’s emergency plan failed miserably last week during an emergency landing by a plane with one engine out and 17 people on board.

A couple of years ago, Transport Canada cut firefighting capabilities at the airport because of declining passenger volumes.

A new emergency plan was drawn up using firefighting and other personnel from outside the airport, but the chief says it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

Previously, the Lab City Fire Department operated under a mutual aid agreement.

They rushed to the emergency landing last week, only to find there was nobody to lead them or tell them what to do.

Then they found out that the plane in question had landed 30 minutes earlier without incident.

That was a full 30 minutes that they were out of the community.

The Chief accuses Transport Canada of downloading the responsibility onto the municipality.

He thought they were there to help out, but there was no direction from the airport.

He told the airport manager of his concerns a year ago, but has yet to hear back.