Phantom Training? Are S.F. Airport’s Rescue Workers Ready to Handle Emergencies? Jan. 14 — If there were ever an emergency at the San Francisco International Airport, the 35 million passengers who use the airport annually should be protected by trained rescuers, but some firefighters say their training falls frighteningly short. The airport's 70 firefighters, deployed in three stations around the airport perimeter, are required to practice emergency procedures, such as hosing down a burning plane, on a daily basis. But a former supervisor, along with six current and former airport firefighters who spoke to ABCNEWS on the condition of anonymity, said that training does not take place every day as it is supposed to. Furthermore, paperwork submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which keeps track of firefighter training, has been falsified, the firefighters said. The former supervisor, John Darmanin, who once was in charge of training at the airport and has long battled with officials about the training shortfalls, said the firefighters are simply not prepared. "It's not good business to practice when there is an emergency," Darmanin said. "You are supposed to be prepared so you can 'exercise' your skills at the emergency, not 'practice' your skills at the emergency." ‘Alarming’ Lack of Training Passengers at the airport should be alarmed at the lack of training, said one of the anonymous firefighters. "I feel the airport is not prepared for a major emergency," he said. "They're just not proficient in many of the things they should be proficient in." Chief Raymond Balzarini, who until a recent promotion had overall authority for the department's airport operation, said that the daily practices are very important. "A daily drill keeps you crisp, with all the different components of the job, all the different tasks," Balzarini said. When ABCNEWS showed Balzarini paperwork that workers said was falsified to indicate training took place when it didn't, he had no immediate comment. "We have to investigate it and find out why and find an explanation for this," he said. Following the ABCNEWS investigation, the FAA has also said it would investigate firefighting training at the airport. Using Passenger Safety Cards to Train? The FAA requires airport firefighters to have recurrent training in a dozen emergency procedures, ranging from live fire drills to evacuating airplane passengers. But a second airport firefighter said his evacuation training was brief, at best. Airport firefighters are trained to evacuate people "just by studying the cards that everybody on an airplane gets in their seat pockets," he said. A third firefighter described his lack of training in moving around a busy airport. "I haven't crossed a runway in over a year," he said He also said he feels unprepared in another area: opening airplane doors in the event of an emergency. "I've been to one class in about two years … there are people at the airport that are relatively new that have never gone through the class," the firefighter said. Workers Say Some Forms Are Fraudulent One of the ways the FAA determines whether training requirements are being met is by reviewing the daily drill forms filled out by the airport, which are supposed to confirm training. Yet some firemen say the forms are fraudulent — signed even though the training never takes place. The second firefighter interviewed said that he signs the forms every day, and that they are "routinely fraudulent" each day. "Almost every shift, if not every shift," agreed the first firefighter, adding that the officer in charge told him to sign it, and said if he didn't somebody else would sign his name. An inspection of the daily drill forms revealed several instances where signatures next to the same printed names appeared to be radically different. ‘Anything’s Possible’ The department is now investigating the whole matter of phantom training, and Balzarini conceded that the firefighters' allegations may well be true. "Anything's possible," Balzarini said. "Anything's possible." Still, Balzarini and other department officials insist airport firefighters are prepared for whatever comes their way. ABCNEWS' Jackie Judd reported this story for Good Morning America. Roger EWROPS