Requirements to fire engines.

The norms of suitability set that on the airfields must be the fire engines recommended to use on the airfields.

Common number of fire engines, that are present on the airfield, is divided into two groups: with the extinguishant supply less than 8 ton and with the extinguishant supply of 8 ton and more. It is caused by the fact, that, as a rule, fire engines used for fire-and-wrecking on aircraft, are subdivided into two categories: fast-acting (high-mobile) and basic.

Fire-and-wrecking units are armed with other special cars used to perform the fire-and-wrecking. For example, command car, cars to supply with light, for coverage of runway with fire foam, water tanks, but all of them can not be classified as high-mobile or basic transport facility.

The fast-acting transport facility destination (with a capacity of extinguishant less than 8 tons) consists in that as quick as possible to arrive on the place of aviation emergency and begin fire extinguishing on an aircraft up to arrival of basic transport facilities with the supply of extinguishant as 8 t and more.

A fire engine must have high speed as 105-110 km/h and dynamics of acceleration up to 80 km/h during 25-30 sec to arrive on a place of aviation emergency for crash time (no more after 2,5-3 min), and in the case of landing equipment ignition (landing gear) of an aircraft it should follow for one with the purpose of its extinguishing. A fast-acting fire engine must also keep a reserve of the primary (water-foam) extinguishant to work no less than on 1,5-2 min with assuming, that basic fire engines have arrived after it, deployed, that is got into gear on extinguishing the fire till all extinguishant supply of the fast-acting fire engine will be used.

A fast-acting fire engine, except for the first (water-foam) extinguishant, should be supplied with the auxiliary extinguishers (installations of the powder-like or gas extinguishing).

It is equipped by hydraulic giants (by gun-carriage trunks) with the hydraulic remote control, by the power takeoff device on pumping facility, that is switched on during motion of engine, without obligatory of its setting, that is important from the point of view of deployment duration and providing the possibility of extinguishing the fire during motion, for example, landing gear of an airplane, that burns during its run.

Their high rough-terrain performance is the important objective to the fast-acting airfield fire engines. The number of members of a crew have to be of 2 or 3 people.

Basic transport facilities are considered to be able to transport (delivery) to the place of aviation emergency the general body of extinguishant. Necessary survival equipment is also transported on basic transport facilities.

The basic airfield fire engines should meet the following minimum engineering requirements:

a) to have large extinguishant carrying capacity according to recommendations of ICAO;

b) to have high speed — up to 100 km/h, the dynamics of acceleration up to speed — 80 km/h after 40-45 s and large rough-terrain performance. Speed and dynamics of acceleration have to be determined at optimum (middle, that is favourable conditions of visibility and state of road coverage;

c) to have enough power pumping installation and hydraulic giants with remote control, which are able to provide standard extinguishant supply.

Pump installation switching on must be carried out both from a pump room, and remotely from driver’s cab; g) to have the survival equipment and arming minimum needed (fire escape, devices for opening the fuselage, rescue lines, knives for the cutting t seat safety-belts, instruments to defend the respiratory organs, heat-reflecting suits, trunks-punches, complete set of trunks & fire hoses, and other fire-and-wrecking equipment). The searchlights or directed illumination must be set on all airfield fire engines; d) basic airfield fire engine as fast-acting, except for water-foam extinguishant must have other (powder-like and gas) extinguishants.