Larnaca airport beefs up fire-fighting trucks

The Cyprus Fire Service has taken delivery of a pair of brand-new Panther PA146 fire fighting vehicles costing €1.3 mln from Austrian manufacturer Rosenbauer, deployed at the Larnaca airport station.

The six-wheel Panthers, similar to models used at leading airports in the world, were tested and already used in a simulated exercise.

The two new trucks, doubling the size of the airport fire station fleet, feature an impressive engine power of 750 hp, a maximum speed of 120 kph, up to 14,000 litres of extinguishing capacity, 9,000 l/min pump output from a distance of 100 metres, and acceleration from 0 to 80 kph in less than 28 seconds.

The vehicles were purchased by Hermes Airports for €1.3 mln and handed to the Fire Service.

In deployments at international airports, they are widely considered as value-for-money.

“These two new vehicles are highly-rated as ‘Category 9’ which determines the ranking of airport facilities around the world, based on aircraft overall length and maximum fuselage,” explained Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis.

All of the 60-strong fire service crew at Larnaca airport station have been trained on the new vehicles.

Category 9 is the penultimate ranking for airports that can accommodate Airbus A330 to A350s and Boeings up to Jumbo 747-400ERs, 767s, 777s and 787s.

“The Panther PA146 is very powerful and equipped with the latest firefighting technology. Similar or identical models are used at some of the world’s largest and busiest airports, like Dubai and London,” said Hermes.

The highest Category 10 is for super-sized aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8.