The Estonian Ministry of Defense has bought two brand new powerful fire trucks for the Amari air base in order for the base to be able to receive also large military and civilian aircraft.
Estonia's Amari air base gets powerful fire trucks
21st June 2013, 18:54
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The tender held for the purchase of the fire trucks last year was won by the Austrian manufacturer Rosenbauer International AG, whose Panther 6x6 six-wheel-drive emergency vehicles enable the base to handle aircraft as large as Boeing C-17, among others, spokespeople for the ministry told BNS.
The vehicles are equipped with water, foam and powder extinguishing systems and come complete with ordinary and thermal imaging cameras. One of the vehicles is fitted with a water-foam monitor having an output of 6,000 liters per minute and a penetrating nozzle that enables to direct water directly into the body of an aircraft. The equipment of the second vehicle includes in addition to a roof-mounted monitor a carbon dioxide fire extinguishing device.
The water tanks of both vehicles have a capacity of over 12,000 liters.
Margus Padjus, adviser at the procurements department of the Ministry of Defense, said the air base must have emergency equipment meeting valid requirements to be able to receive planes like Boeing C-17. «Until now the Amari air base has been using the equipment of the Rescue Board and volunteer rescue organizations. After the acquisition of the new rescue vehicles the air base is capable of supporting air operations on its own,» Padjus said.
He said the Ministry of Defense will go on making large-scale investments in Amari in the coming years so that the base was able to handle NATO air policing operations and receive strategic airlift transport aircraft.