Jersey Airport welcomed bright red new arrivals through their terminal and no it wasn’t burnt islanders returning from the summer holidays… instead, a new fleet of “top range” firefighting vehicles.
The new Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 HRET vehicles have joined the Jersey Airport Rescue and Firefighting Service to combat aviation injuries. The new additions are set to replace some of the older firefighting vehicles, in which some are over 20 years old.
The two new Panthers are 12 metres long and 3 metres wide with a water capacity of 11,200 litres – nearly double the previous vehicles capacity.
After being built in factory in Austria for 18 months, they were later shipped down to St Malo on low loaders to be brought across to the Island.
The Panthers are excepted to be fully operational in three months time, towards the close of the year, after all necessary training is completed.
The crew is yet to recieve on Island operating training carried out by Rosenbauer UK, to ensure the service understand the operation of every button, locker area, cab component, and as well as maintenance training.
Instructors are also coming over to teach specifically about the the High Reach Extendable Turret, or HRET, which is a key feature of the Panthers.
The HRETs give firefighters the ability to position the firefighting turret at height and deliver firefighting media directly where it is needed, providing an important capability when dealing with aircraft incidents.
Charlie Du Feu, station manager at Ports of Jersey Airport Fire Service, said: “These vehicles represent a significant investment in our emergency response capability at Jersey Airport and provide our crews with some of the most modern firefighting technology available.
“The Panthers combine this high technology, such as the HRET, with excellent vehicle performance, substantial firefighting capacity and modern safety systems. They have been specifically designed to give airport firefighters the tools and capabilities required to deal with the unique challenges of aircraft rescue and firefighting.
“With these vehicles, a lot of the firefighting is now going to be done from inside the operating cab. Recently, in the industry, a focus has been healthy firefighter initiatives, and how we can protect our crews a lot more by ensuring that a lot of the initial firefighting being done isn’t outside the cab.
“Jersey Airport is an important part of the Island’s infrastructure, and maintaining a modern and capable Rescue and Firefighting Service is essential. The new Panthers are a fantastic addition to our fleet and will significantly enhance our ability to protect passengers, aircraft, and the Airport infrastructure as a whole.”
