When it comes to aircraft firefighting, fast, highly maneuverable and the most advanced, performance-based aircraft rescue firefighting (ARFF) apparatus are considered the norm.
Although speccing these vehicles requires a lot of planning and foresight, it also requires some of the same planning strategies you’d use when designing any other fire apparatus. The one major difference when considering vehicle design: Target hazards are greatly increased with ARFF vehicles.
Most commercial airports serve multiple airlines with planes that differ in type, size and fuel and passenger loads. But the planes and their fuel loads aren’t the only hazards located at airports; fuel tank farms, areas for hazardous cargo and the normal structural and vehicle fire hazards that exist in most other public places can also be found at airports. This is why it’s imperative that each airport employs the proper number of ARFF vehicles and personnel at all times.
In this article, I’ll highlight three Texas airports that have recently updated their ARFF fleets: Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Hobby and Bush International.
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
The second largest airport in the United States, the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Airport is a city in itself. It covers about 30 square miles, consists of 18,076 acres with seven runways and three control towers. In 2007, DFW served 21 airlines, which had 685,491 movements, and handled 797,511 tons of cargo.
Assistant Chief Jessie Gentry, one of four chiefs employed by the DFW Department of Public Safety, was responsible for replacing the airport’s fleet of ARFF vehicles. Why the need for replacement? “We generally replace our vehicles every 8 years,” Gentry explains. “[This time around,] we had older vehicles from 1995 that have served us well, but were starting to require a lot of maintenance.”
DFW takes apparatus selection seriously, putting much thought into every step of the process. “Consideration is given to mileage, age, maintenance down time and technology available–in other words, what’s available in the industry now that wasn’t available 8 years ago,” Gentry says. “We also trade in our vehicles, so that was another consideration.”
Sixteen years ago, the department owned and operated several Oshkosh vehicles, so Gentry and the fleet management team decided to look at them again, particularly because of the company’s introduction of its Striker model. “We give our fleet management team the opportunity to investigate what’s out on the market at the present time,” Gentry says. “Then the team, which consists of a team leader, a division chief, a captain, two firefighters and two maintenance people [supervisor and mechanic] sets out to design the specs.”
The Oshkosh Striker comes in various sizes and tank capacities, but DFW ended up purchasing eight of the 4500 model, which is the largest model in the Striker series. The department test-drove and operated all the other models, but the 4500 had great speed and response time for its size. The purchase was completed over a 4-year period. “We bought four in 2004, two in 2005 and two in 2007,” Gentry explains.
Buying all the same vehicles and models from one manufacturer also allowed everyone to be trained on one type of vehicle with the exception of the last two, which were outfitted with Snozzle booms and therefore required a little more training.
“The vehicles are much more updated than our past ARFF rigs,” Gentry notes. “The new Strikers hold 4,500 gallons of water compared to 3,000 gallons in the older rigs. [The rigs also hold] 500 gallons of 3 percent AFFF and 480 lbs. of dry-chemical. And with the new Hydro-Chem nozzles, we can flow water, foam and dry-chem with high-flow and low-flow capacities.”
Originally, DFW wasn’t sold on the Snozzle concept, because older models had only a 50′ reach and were chain driven; however, the newer models are hydraulic and have a 65′ reach.
They also feature both automatic and piercing nozzles that can pierce an aircraft’s fuselage. “This is extremely helpful because we have a large UPS cargo depot, so the potential is there to have a fully loaded cargo aircraft that we couldn’t enter the conventional way,” Gentry says.
As with all new apparatus, there were some bugs to be worked out, but overall, DFW is extremely pleased with its new fleet. “We have a great working relationship with Oshkosh,” Gentry says. “Maintenance was great and downtime was minimal. All of our problems were solved.”
Houston Hobby & George Bush Intercontinental Airports
The Houston Fire Department (HFD) provides ARFF coverage to both Houston Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports through its Special Operations Division of the Homeland Security Command. Besides their location in Texas, the two airports are the complete opposites of each other: Hobby is 7 miles south of Houston and Bush is 23 miles north. Hobby is ranked the 43rd busiest in the United States and Bush the 8th busiest for total passengers. While Bush services 17 major airlines and is home to Continental Airlines, Hobby services just five airlines. Although Hobby is much smaller than Bush, it must still receive ARFF protection; therefore, a great deal of planning went into the HFD’s ARFF apparatus purchase for both airports.
According to Les Fulgham, the captain in charge of ARFF operations, “Prior to this purchase, the HFD did not have an apparatus replacement program based on age of equipment. Before 2003, all of our current vehicles were more than 10 years old, and we only had one reserve piece. So it was time to get started on speccing out new vehicles.”
The HFD started the process by getting approval from the city council for a 10-year replacement plan, which began in 2004. “The senior captain and I worked on the specs for the new ARFF vehicles together,” Fulgham recalls. “We researched ARFF vehicles on the market and designed performance-based specs based on our findings.”
In the end, the HFD decided to order five vehicles from Rosenbauer. “As far as we were concerned, Rosenbauer outperformed all the other vehicles we had in the past,” Fulgham says.
Not only was the HFD impressed with Rosenbauer’s vehicle performance, it was also blown away by how quickly the company delivered the apparatus. “We wrote the specs in 2004, put them out for competitive bidding in 2005, and the trucks were ordered in October of 2005,” Fulgham recalls. “We received delivery of all five vehicles 9 months later, which we thought was a great turnaround time.”
The HFD chose two different types of Rosenbauer Panther ARFF vehicles, the 4 x 4 and 6 x 6; Rosenbauer delivered three 6 x 6s in 2006, and one 6 x 6 and one 4 x 4 in 2007.
One of the biggest improvements made to the HFD rigs is that all tools are ground level and accessible–but the exceptional features don’t stop there. “We have an on-board foam pump system to load foam from 55-gallon drums into the trucks more easily, and we have high-volume turrets on the roof and front bumper for redundancy,” Fulgham says. “If you lose one turret, you still have the other to work with. Plus, both the Rhino nozzles and the Snozzles allow us greater reach so we can get agent onto an aircraft more easily.”
Additional improved features include apparatus tires, which, in the past, had to be replaced twice a year. Now, because of the vehicles’ improved maneuverability, the HFD replaces tires every 2 years, saving the department $100,000 a year.
“The vehicles are really working out well for us,” Fulgham says. “Rosenbauer also worked well with all of our outside vendors, such as Motorola, Bear Com and Infinity, to meet all of our needs.”
Despite some third-party vendor problems, which are being worked out, the HFD is extremely satisfied with its purchase and Rosenbauer in general.
Conclusion
From the enormous DFW to the smaller Hobby, each airport has different types of hazards to deal with; therefore, each responding fire department had to design specs that worked for them and choose a manufacturer that could tackle their needs.
Whether your department covers a major airport with a greater FAA Index number or a smaller regional airport with small FBOs that handles general aviation aircraft, both Oshkosh and Rosenbauer have vehicles big and small to meet your needs.
Speccing these types of vehicles might seem like a daunting task to a regular firefighter or fire officer, but it’s really no different than speccing other apparatus. Start by researching not only other airports’ apparatus, but also be sure to read up on FAA and NFPA standards. And like these innovative departments did, see what new technology is currently available on the market now compared to the past–and don’t just visit manufacturer Web sites. There are numerous other sites to explore; ARFF Working Group (www.arffwg.org), which is hosting its 19th annual ARFF conference in Las Vegas this September, and Aviation Fire Journal (www.aviationfirejournal.com) are two that come to mind immediately.
Remember: Take some time to research and plan and you won’t go wrong.
DFW at a Glance
General
- 5 stations, 4 for airfield operations and 1 for structural fires (plans for 2 additional structural stations outside the airport are in the works)
- 163 firefighters, 114 assigned to ARFF
- 30 EMS personnel
- 3,800 runs per year
Apparatus Fleet
- Easy 11, 31, 32, 42: 2004 Oshkosh Strikers
- Easy 21, 41: 2005 Oshkosh Strikers
- Easy 12, 22: 2007 Oshkosh Strikers
- Easy 19, 29: Ford F-550 RIVs
- Quint 24: 75′ Pierce
- Quint 35, 55: 61′ Pierce
- Truck 14: 100′ Pierce Platform
- Truck 44: 135′ E-One Bronto
- Rescue 27: Ford F-550
- Support 38 (MVU): 60″ Peterbilt PPV Tempest
- MCP Command Post: Prevost Bus
Striker Specs
- Oshkosh Striker 4500 ARFF chassis
- 950-hp Caterpillar C-18 engine
- Twin-disc TD-2619 six-speed transmission
- 4,500-gallon water tank
- 535-gallon foam tank
- 480-lb. dry-chemical tank
- Forward and rear cameras
- Hydro-Chem water/foam (600/1,200 gpm) and dry-chemical (16 lbs./second) primary turret
- Akron (375/750 gpm) secondary turret (on the roof)
- 1 ¾” double-jacket hose (125 gpm), 1″ booster line (95 gpm), dual-agent water/foam and dry-chemical (5 lbs./second) lines
- 3,000-watt Will-burt Night Scan light tower
- Infrared camera with 10″ screen
Houston Hobby & George Bush at a Glance
General
- 148 firefighters assigned positions split between 4 shifts and 4 stations: 3 at George Bush, 1 at Hobby
Apparatus Fleet
Three Rosenbauer Panther Class 1 6-x-6 ARFF trucks
- 665-hp Detroit Diesel engine
- Twin-disc transmission
- 3,000-gallon water tank
- 400-gallon AFFF tank (6 percent)
- 450 lbs. Purple K Williams dry-chemical capacity
- 1,200-gpm/500-gpm (water/dry-chemical) Rhino Bumper Turret with Hydro-Chem nozzle
- 2,200 feet of 1 ¾” preconnected lines
- One twin-agent line with Hydro-Chem nozzle
- TNT rescue tool system
- Two 26′ Little Giant adder systems
- Electric PPV fan
- On-board hydraulic generator
- Two 200′ mounted cord reels
- Assorted hand tools and extinguishers
- FLIR and color camera
1 Rosenbauer Panther Class 1 6-x-6 ARFF vehicle
- 3,000-gallon water tank
- 400-gallon AFFF tank (6 percent)
- 1,000-gpm/500-gpm (water/dry-chemical) Snozzle
- Two 200′ lines of 1 ¾” hose
- One 150′ Halotron reel line
- TNT rescue tool system
- Two Little Giant ladder systems
- Electric PPV fan
- Assorted hand tools and extinguishers
- FLIR and color camera
1 Rosenbauer Panther Class 2 4-x-4 ARFF vehicle
- 1,500-gallon water tank
- 200-gallon AFFF tank (6 percent)
- 450-lb. dry-chemical tank
- 750-gpm/375-gpm (water/dry-chemical) Rhino bumper turret with Hydro-Chem nozzle
- 100′ twin-agent handline with Hydro-Chem nozzle
- Same tools as other four vehicles
Remaining Fleet
- Two 2003 E-One Titan HPR Class 1 ARFF vehicles with high-reach extendable turret
- One 2003 E-One Titan HPR Class 2 ARFF vehicle
- Two Crash Rescue Class 6 ARFF vehicles
- One 2000 E-One Hurricane engine
- Four Oshkosh 6-x-6 reserve apparatus
The FAA Index
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publishes an index applicable to all airports served by scheduled air carriers that operate aircraft with a seating capacity greater than 30 passengers. The index also determines the minimum number of ARFF vehicles needed per airport and the minimum types and quantities of extinguishing agents they must carry.
This information and all of the advisory circulars, including 150/5220-10D: Guide Specification for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicles, are available on the FAA Web site for viewing.
The NFPA also has several standards that apply and should also be examined. NFPA 414 (2007) deals with the design and performance requirements for ARFF vehicles.
Both the FAA index and NFPA 414 should be looked at before you decide on a vehicle or vehicles.
