The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) approved the acquisition of 41 new units of industrial type airport rescue firefighting vehicles; the procurement was awarded to Oshkosh Corporation. The new fire trucks, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicles (ARFF), are expected to improve the firefighting
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) approved the acquisition of 41 new units of industrial type airport rescue firefighting vehicles; the procurement was awarded to Oshkosh Corporation.
The new fire trucks, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicles (ARFF), are expected to improve the firefighting capability of major commercial airports.
Certified by an independent international 3rd party, the vehicles meet and exceed all National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), FAA and ICAO international standards for aircraft and rescue fighting.
CAAP operates 81 airports, including 41 that handle commercial flights. The commercial airports had an inventory of 97 fire trucks with acquisition date as far as 1968. Around 17 units were already out of commission due to the lack of supply of spare parts.
The 80 working units had an average year acquisition of 20 years. It was only in 2013 that 3 new ARFF vehicles were added with 6,000 to 13,000 liter capacity.
CAAP director general William Hotchkiss III said the deployment of the newly acquired ARFF vehicles is part of government's plan to upgrade the Emergency Services Unit of CAAP on all major airports in the Philippines.
This is in compliance with the International Civil Authority Organization (ICAO), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union (EU) international standards for aircraft and rescue fighting requirements.
A competitive public bidding was done before the procurement of the 41 ARFF vehicles – 4 with 12,000 liters of water capacity and 37 with 6,000 liters capacity.