SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 1980
FIREMEN AT AIRPORT HAVE NEW APPLIANCES
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THE FIRE CONTINGENT AT KAI TAK, HONG KONG'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, HAS ACQUIRED A MAJOR FOAM TENDER AND TWO RAPID INTERVENTION VEHICLES TO ENHANCE ITS FIRE FIGHTING CAPABILITY.
THE NEW VEHICLES, ORDERED THROUGH THE ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AT A COST OF OVER $2.5 MILLION, ARE OF THE LATEST AVAILABLE MODELS, WITH EQUIPMENT OPERATED BY PUSH-BUTTONS.
THEY WILL REPLACE FOUR OLD VEHICLES OF SIMILAR TYPES WHICH HAVE BEEN USED BY THE CONTINGENT FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS AND ARE BECOMING OBSOLETE AND UNECONOMICAL TO MAINTAIN.
THE MAJOR FOAM TENDER IS CAPABLE OF LOADING OVER 13 600 LITRES OF WATER AND 1 600 LITRES OF FOAM CONCENTRATE.
IT HAS A MONITOR FLOW OF OVER 85 METRES, WHICH IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO COVER THE LENGTH OF THE FUSELAGE OF ANY CONVENTIONAL AIRCRAFT.
THE TWO RAPID INTERVENTION VEHICLES ARE MUCH SMALLER AND EACH CARRIES 1 000 LITRES OF PRE-MIXED WATER/FOAM EXTINGUISHING AGENT AND A 50-KILOGRAM FIRE EXTINGUISHER. THESE VEHICLES ARE LIGHT-WEIGHT IN DESIGN AND CAN TRAVEL AT A MUCH GREATER SPEED THAN THE HEAVY- BUILT MAJOR FOAM TENDER.
+NO TIME MUST BE LOST IN THE EVENT OF AN AIRCRAFT FIRE AND THE RAPID INTERVENTION VEHICLES WILL GIVE THE MOST INVALUABLE FIRE COVER FOR THE FIRST MINUTE OR TWO BEFORE THE MAJOR FOAM TENDER IS READY TO JOIN IN THE FIRE FIGHTING OPERATION, SAID MR HO KWOK-CHUEN, DIVISIONAL COMMANDER OF THE AIRPORT FIRE CONTINGENT.
+BACK-UP VEHICLES WILL BRING IN FURTHER SUPPLIES OF FOAM CONCENTRATE AND HOSES FOR CONNECTING UP WITH HIGH-PRESSURE HYDRANTS AT THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY TO DRAW WATER.
+THE OPERATION CAN BE CONDUCTED SMOOTHLY IN THIS WAY UNTIL THE FIRE IS OUT, MR HO SAID.
THE AIRPORT FIRE CONTINGENT OPERATES FROM TWO FIRE STATIONS, ONE AT EACH END OF THE RUNWAY.
IT HAS A STAFF OF SOME 110 OFFICERS AND MEN AND A FLEET OF FOUR MAJOR FOAM TENDERS, TWO RAPID INTERVENTION VEHICLES, TWO BACK-UP APPLIANCES AND ONE MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLE. THE CONTINGENT ALSO OPERATES A CATAMARAN AND TWO ZODIAC INFLATABLE BOATS FOR HARBOUR RESCUE OPERATIONS.
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