Narrative:

Weather was VFR and the wind had been shifting around all day. We were currently advertising visual approaches to runways xxl and xxr. There wasn't much going on at the time when someone came up the stairs and said that aircraft X has a low oil pressure indication in one engine and is going to make a precautionary landing here. The aircraft was about five miles southeast of the field descending through about 12;000 feet and tagged on the d-brite for runway xxl. There were two other aircraft inbound that were also tagged for xxl in a position to follow. I called the emergency equipment on the radio and advised them of the situation; the aircraft's position; and landing runway. Fire zz was first out of the house and requested to position at the approach end of runway xxl. I issued instructions to proceed on C and to cross runway yy. Fire Z was next and held its position on the ramp near taxiway Z1 which is near the midfield intersection. When the aircraft checked onto local control frequency; it had circled around about two miles west of the field descending through 8500 feet and the right engine had been completely shut down. By this time; the fire trucks were at their requested positions. The aircraft requested runway xl (which we don't have) and local control asked; do you mean xxl? The pilot didn't seem sure which runway he wanted and continued to circle to the southeast and descend. At this point; local control requested control of all runways. The coordination was completed between me and local control. As the aircraft continued to circle; it became apparent that it was turning about a one mile left base for runway yyr; the opposite direction from which the fire trucks were positioned. I advised the fire trucks of the change of plans and they requested to 'trade positions'. I told fire Y to proceed on a to the approach end of runway yyr and told fire zz to proceed on C and to cross runway yy; which I had just given away; in order to position him where fire Y had been. Fire zz then requested only to 'drive C and hold short of yy'. My response was 'fire zz proceed as requested'. By this time the aircraft was on short final for runway yyr. Local and ground coordinated for fire Y to follow the aircraft on runway yyr. I told fire Y to turn right at Z2 and follow the aircraft. As the aircraft was safely rolling out on the runway; I realized that I had issued instructions to fire zz to cross a runway that I had given away; although no one was using it; but was also aware that fire zz had requested to hold short and in fact was holding short of runway yy. The aircraft and fire Y exited at B without incident and fire zz was holding short of runway yy at C. Fire zz then requested to continue to the ramp. Proper coordination was effected and fire zz was told to 'cross runway yy; proceed to the ramp'. After this; ground control was given back control of runway X/yy and xx/zz and we resumed normal operations. I'm not sure if I have any specific recommendations to prevent re-occurrence. The proper coordination was recorded and visual aids were used. Everything was done by the book until I issued instructions to cross a runway I did not own. I had the picture; I knew which runway was going to be used (yyr); I became fixated on the high priority aircraft and logically knew I could cross runway yy without conflict or danger and issued the instruction to move the emergency vehicle to where it needed to be as soon as possible. Even though I was breaking the rules; I wasn't thinking about them because the situation unfolded in such a way that the fire vehicles were not going to need to cross the runway that the only aircraft was going to use. Perhaps if there was a way to practice not fixating on a high priority aircraft or situation but to continue managing the remaining work load simultaneously this could be prevented. I believe that is one of the hardest things to do in this job; especially when it involves an emergency type situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Caught up in an effort to relocate emergency equipment to the proper location; a Ground Controller issued an unauthorized runway crossing clearance to an emergency vehicle.

Narrative: Weather was VFR and the wind had been shifting around all day. We were currently advertising visual approaches to Runways XXL and XXR. There wasn't much going on at the time when someone came up the stairs and said that Aircraft X has a low oil pressure indication in one engine and is going to make a precautionary landing here. The aircraft was about five miles southeast of the field descending through about 12;000 feet and tagged on the D-BRITE for Runway XXL. There were two other aircraft inbound that were also tagged for XXL in a position to follow. I called the Emergency Equipment on the radio and advised them of the situation; the aircraft's position; and landing Runway. Fire ZZ was first out of the house and requested to position at the approach end of Runway XXL. I issued instructions to proceed on C and to cross Runway YY. Fire Z was next and held its position on the ramp near Taxiway Z1 which is near the midfield intersection. When the aircraft checked onto Local Control frequency; it had circled around about two miles west of the field descending through 8500 feet and the right engine had been completely shut down. By this time; the fire trucks were at their requested positions. The aircraft requested Runway XL (which we don't have) and Local Control asked; do you mean XXL? The pilot didn't seem sure which Runway he wanted and continued to circle to the Southeast and descend. At this point; Local Control requested control of all Runways. The coordination was completed between me and Local Control. As the aircraft continued to circle; it became apparent that it was turning about a one mile left base for Runway YYR; the opposite direction from which the fire trucks were positioned. I advised the fire trucks of the change of plans and they requested to 'trade positions'. I told Fire Y to proceed on A to the approach end of Runway YYR and told Fire ZZ to proceed on C and to cross Runway YY; which I had just given away; in order to position him where Fire Y had been. Fire ZZ then requested only to 'drive C and hold short of YY'. My response was 'Fire ZZ proceed as requested'. By this time the aircraft was on short final for Runway YYR. Local and Ground coordinated for Fire Y to follow the aircraft on Runway YYR. I told Fire Y to turn right at Z2 and follow the aircraft. As the aircraft was safely rolling out on the Runway; I realized that I had issued instructions to Fire ZZ to cross a Runway that I had given away; although no one was using it; but was also aware that Fire ZZ had requested to hold short and in fact was holding short of Runway YY. The aircraft and Fire Y exited at B without incident and Fire ZZ was holding short of Runway YY at C. Fire ZZ then requested to continue to the ramp. Proper coordination was effected and Fire ZZ was told to 'cross Runway YY; proceed to the ramp'. After this; Ground Control was given back control of Runway X/YY and XX/ZZ and we resumed normal operations. I'm not sure if I have any specific recommendations to prevent re-occurrence. The proper coordination was recorded and visual aids were used. Everything was done by the book until I issued instructions to cross a Runway I did not own. I had the picture; I knew which Runway was going to be used (YYR); I became fixated on the high priority aircraft and logically knew I could cross Runway YY without conflict or danger and issued the instruction to move the emergency vehicle to where it needed to be ASAP. Even though I was breaking the rules; I wasn't thinking about them because the situation unfolded in such a way that the fire vehicles were not going to need to cross the Runway that the only aircraft was going to use. Perhaps if there was a way to practice not fixating on a high priority aircraft or situation but to continue managing the remaining work load simultaneously this could be prevented. I believe that is one of the hardest things to do in this job; especially when it involves an emergency type situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.