5 new Oshkosh fire fighting vehicles at Birmingham Airport

As part of a £3m replacement vehicle programme, Birmingham Airport has recently unveiled five new state-of-the-art Oshkosh Striker fire fighting vehicles that will change the way the airport fire fighters tackle aircraft fires, by providing greater fire suppression, safety and versatility to maximise emergency response.

In its role as exclusive representatives for all Oshkosh Airport Fire Fighting and Rescue (ARFF) vehicles in the UK and Ireland, Terberg DTS (UK) Ltd is supporting the introduction of the new Striker to Birmingham Airport and will continue to support the vehicles throughout their working life using a team of experienced technical support staff.  Birmingham is the first UK airport to acquire Oshkosh fire vehicles and, prior to the Strikers starting active service at the airport, Terberg DTS undertook all the pre-delivery inspections and configured the layout of each new vehicle to suit the airport’s requirements.

“The Oshkosh Strikers will provide Birmingham Airport with a world-class fire and rescue service and Terberg’s proven technical support and after sales service will help improve reliability and performance, thereby ensuring that the airport’s fire fighting capabilities are commensurate with its future plans,” said Alisdair Couper, managing director of Terberg DTS.

Three of the five new vehicles have extended boom technology, called ‘Snozzles’, which can penetrate an aircraft fuselage in the event of an aircraft incident, allowing direct close range access to an on-board fire. The movement of the Snozzle is computer controlled from inside the Striker cab using a joystick with cameras providing detailed imagery from the Snozzle. Each appliance is equipped with hydrochem fire nozzles that can discharge water and dry powder simultaneously.

The Oshkosh strikers can accelerate from 0-50 mph in under 35 seconds and are fitted with Oshkosh TAK-4 all-wheel independent suspension for off road driving. The vehicles also have improved turning radius and manoeuvrability with the rear wheel steer and greater braking power due to using all-round disc brakes. Each vehicle has an inbuilt video device that records data from the forward and rear looking cameras covering the operator’s actions when responding to an emergency.  Front facing infra-red cameras (FLIR) for identifying hot and cold surfaces to aid in the rescue and fire suppression are also provided.

Terberg DTS, through its Fire and Rescue Division, is responsible for the sale of all Oshkosh and Pierce airport products in the UK and Ireland and the full after-sales support including a parts service.   This partnership with Oshkosh is part of Terberg’s extensive portfolio of services for the Fire Industry, covering refurbishment, repairs, service and spare parts for fire vehicles within the aviation, domestic and industrial markets.