Queenstown Airport has made a significant investment in
safety, buying a new fire engine and recruiting seven new members for the Airport
Emergency Service (AES) team.
The Rosenbauer Panther S is a specialised aircraft rescue
and firefighting vehicle, built to Queenstown Airport’s specifications in
Austria. The six-wheel-drive truck carries 7,000 litres of water and 1,200
litres of foam. It also has a bumper monitor and thermal imaging camera.
“This will enable us to respond to an emergency with the
very latest fire and rescue technology,” Head of Assets and Airport Emergency
Service Wayne Stiven said. “We’re very pleased to add this to our fleet.”
Queenstown Airport already has two Rosenbauer Buffalo fire
trucks, bought in the mid-2000s.
“We will now have an extra vehicle for training and to cover
maintenance,” Mr Stiven said.
With the resumption of regular domestic and international
flights, Queenstown Airport has bolstered its AES team, hiring three new
recruits at the start of the year and another three in July.
The two women and four men were all sent to the Singapore
Aviation at Changi Airport for part of their training, practising using foam on
Jet A1 fuel fires.
Another female recruit joined the team in September and is
undergoing her AES training now.
