
Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue has taken delivery of its 12th Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck and has a 13th Panther 6×6 on Rosenbauer’s production line.
Omar Cuartas, firefighter and ARFF driving training instructor for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, says that Miami International Airport is an Index E airport as designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The FAA requires an Index E airport to have 6,000 gallons of finished foam available on a first attack,” Cuartas says, “and that can be produced by up to three apparatus of any type and in any combination.” Cuartas points out that Miami-Dade Fire Rescue currently has six Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 ARFF trucks with high reach extendable turrets (HRETs), as well as several Rosenbauer Panther 4×4 ARFF rigs.
Duane Kann, regional ARFF manager for Rosenbauer, says that the latest ARFF truck delivered to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is built on a Rosenbauer chassis with an aluminum body with seating for four firefighters and tinted solar film on all glass for ultraviolet and vision protection. He adds that the rig is powered by a 700-horsepower (hp) Volvo engine, has a Delstar 250-amp 24-volt alternator, and has a separate 10-kW diesel-powered generator system that can run the truck’s lighting and air conditioning system without operating the vehicle’s main Tier 4 diesel engine.
Kann says the new rig has a Rosenbauer N80/2100 pump; a 54-foot HRET with a piercing tip; a low-approach bumper turret; and carries 3,000 gallons of water, 400 gallons of foam, and 450 pounds of dry chemical powder. The piercing tip on the HRET can flow either water, foam or a mix of water and foam, he says. The ARFF truck’s high-volume, low-approach bumper turret can flow water, foam, a water/foam mix, or a dry chemical stream inside the water/foam stream.
Cuartas notes that one of the benefits of the HRET is not having to move the ARFF truck after it is originally positioned. “The HRET gives us a lot more flexibility when attacking a fire,” he says. “It takes about half the time to extinguish a fire with the HRET compared to a standard roof turret. You don’t have to move the truck to get to the entire fire, and the HRET arm gets you into much better positions.”
Cuartas adds that in addition to a 360-degree pan/tilt forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera on the top left side of the cab, there’s also a pan/tilt FLIR infrared color camera on the piercing tip housing. “The FLIR camera gives us a huge advantage when locating an interior fire on an aircraft,” he says. “Using the FLIR we can identify and map out a hot spot in the fuselage, piece the aircraft skin, and introduce the extinguishing agent.”
The Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 HRET also has 200 feet of preconnected 1¾-inch hoseline on each side of the truck. On the top right side of the rig are two Task Force Tips monitors with Metro 1 slide valves that can deliver 125 gallons per minute (gpm) at 75 pounds per square inch (psi).
Cuartas observes, “We have four Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 HRET ARFF trucks available 24/7 that can deliver 12,000 gallons of finished foam on an initial attack. That is more than capable of handling any emergency.”
Kann adds that the newest Panther 6×6 HRET has painted AMDOR compartment doors, a FixMix foam testing system that allows firefighters to test the foam system without actually discharging foam, Rosenbauer LED emergency lighting, and Tomar Electronics LED scene and auxiliary lighting.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.