VIDEO: The Delaware Air National Guard has a new piece of emergency equipment ready to roll in the event of an aircraft emergency at the Wilmington Airport.
The Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 Airport Rescue Fire Fighting unit (ARFF) is 39-feet long, 12 ft. high, and 10 ft. wide, weighs 77,000 lbs., and carries 3,000 gallons of water, 400 gallons of foam, and 500 pounds of dry chemical.
The new rig is part of a major United States Air Force contract for 71 Rosenbauer crash trucks authorized in November, 2018, at a total cost of almost $50 million and replaces a nearly 25-year old unit at Wilmington Airport. Ronald Stanton, Assistant Chief of Operations for the Guard's fire department at Wilmington Airport, said the truck has all of the latest technological tools for fighting aircraft fires.
"It uses ultra-high pressure for discharging its water," said Stanton, "which means the water comes out in smaller droplets which allows it to absorb heat more efficiently.