It's there in case the very worst happens on the runway.
Springfield-Branson National Airport personnel and first responders gave the 2023 Oshkosh Striker 3000 a warm welcome at the airport’s fire station on Nov. 29.
In keeping with firefighting lore, attendees at the dedication ceremony for the Airport Fire Department’s new $1.3 million fire truck pushed the vehicle, dubbed EZ-7, into the firehouse.
At 93,000 pounds, the tradition required the truck to be put in reverse.
As far back as the 1800s, new fire trucks have been hosed off and pushed back into a firehouse, providing a sense of community ownership. After firefighters used the outgoing 1994 model to douse the new truck with water, attendees wiped down the exterior of the new truck before seeing it parked in the airport fire station.
Paid for by airport funds, the new truck sits alongside a 2009 Oshkosh Striker 3000 and retires a 1994 Oshkosh T-1500.
Springfield-Branson National Airport Fire Department Chief Eric Sanders said the firefighters were “lucky” to get the EZ-7 as soon as they did. While these specialty trucks typically take about two years to be built, it only took nine months, coming in shortly after the retirement of an older truck.
With another truck retirement approaching, the department will be left with its new truck and the 2009 model, which Sanders said will need to be replaced in a matter of years. Despite its makeup of only two trucks, the new fleet will exceed Federal Aviation Administration requirements, according to Sanders.
New truck boasts new technology
The “state-of-the-art” vehicle will bring the 17 Airport Rescue Firefighters (ARFF) a host of modern technology to combat aircraft fires. The truck can hold up to 3,000 gallons of water, 420 gallons of firefighting foam and 500 gallons of dry chemical.
In addition to capacity, the fire truck brings speed, ladders and a “Snozzle” high-reach extendable turret, which can pierce the exterior of an aircraft and put out a fire without anyone having to step inside a burning plane.
Though the 2009 can also hold up to 3,000 gallons of water, and the 1994 model has a high-reach extendable turret of its own, Fire Medical Trainer Jason Bogema said the new vehicle is “technologically, so much more truck than what there was back then.”
Rather than have firefighters test the consistency of fire suppression foam, which has been linked to negative health effects, the new truck can test the foam within the system.
“It makes it a really good, safe system for the firefighters for that when we do have to test it, we don't have to get contaminated by it,” Bogema said, adding that newer foams are more environmentally friendly.
Additionally, the new fire truck allows the firefighters to deploy various firefighting tools faster. That includes spraying water or chemicals as the truck is driving at high speeds, streamlining the department’s response time on airport grounds. In 2022, ARFF responded to 79 medical calls and 9 aircraft emergencies, with an average response time of two minutes.
