Aircraft rescue and firefighting is at the top of many people’s minds. In the last two months there have been five major commercial airline fires worthy of making the nightly news. Incidents in Edmonton, Toronto, Denver, Houston and Orlando all resulted in fires that had to be extinguished to ensure safe egress of the passengers from the aircraft.
Four of these incidents happened on the runway or tarmac, away from the terminal, highlighting the importance of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighters and First Responders. Their firefighting efforts extinguished each fire quickly, facilitating the safe evacuation of the passengers. NFPA 403, Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services at airports specifies the fire equipment requirements for these vehicles.
One of these fires happened as the plane approached the terminal building and was extinguished by the ground crew using a Purple K Wheeled Fire Extinguisher. The pictures on the internet (see above and below) show an airport or airline employee discharging a Purple K Wheeled Fire Extinguisher onto the plane, successfully extinguishing the fire and allowing the passengers to evacuate via the wing where the fire had been. We don’t have an actual picture of the wheeled fire extinguisher, only the hose, nozzle and purple K discharge As I frequently fly through Denver, about 4-6 times a month, I observe every wheeled unit visible from the terminal. I have only seen Amerex Wheeled units, leading us to suspect that the extinguisher used was an Amerex Fire Extinguisher.
No matter who manufactured this Wheeled Fire Extinguisher, we as an industry should count this airline fire and rescue as a win! Think about the steps it took for this win to happen.
- First, the NFPA standards must require the correct fire extinguisher to protect these hazards.
- Then the architect must specify the correct fire extinguishers throughout the facility.
- The Amerex Distributor then must win the bid to sell and install these fire extinguishers.
- Now that they are in place, they must be protected from the elements, inspected Monthly and maintained annually by Authorized Amerex Distributors to ensure their proper operation at key moments like this. When I look at the picture above with the airport employee discharging the wheeled fire extinguisher, I see the discharge hose laying on the ground with only one switch back, and I know the Fire Technician installed that hose correctly!
- Finally, the crew on the ground must be trained and know when and how to use Wheeled Fire Extinguishers. The right fire extinguisher was in place, in good working order and was operated by someone who had obviously been trained in its operation and use in a fire scenario.
Watch this video to learn how to effectively use a Purple K Wheeled Fire Extinguisher.
Read more about Amerex Wheeled Fire Extinguisher in this brochure.
