Nelson Airport’s new $1.4 million Rosenbauer Panther fire truck was blessed this month before coming into active service at the airport – and as an emergency response asset for the entire Nelson-Tasman region when required.
The new fire truck, named ‘Flick’ following a public competition and judging by the Tasman Mako and representatives from the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programme, arrived in Nelson on 29 November.
On Thursday 1 December, Flick was blessed by iwi and formally welcomed by representatives of Nelson Airport, Rosenbauer Australia, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and airport operators including Air New Zealand.
Nelson Airport chief executive Mark Thompson says Flick will give Nelson Airport’s Rescue Fire Service state of the art specialist airport firefighting capability, as well as providing greater protection for the firefighters if responding to events.
“Our airport firefighters are an essential component of ensuring safe operations for every operator and traveller using Nelson Airport, and they can respond within minutes in the event of any incident requiring emergency support.
“On a day to day basis, they carry out a wide range of airfield support duties that ensure a safe and secure airport operating environment, which is critical as the wellbeing of our airport whānau and customers is the highest priority in all the work we do.”
Nelson Airport is also working with FENZ on making Flick available for regional emergency response, without compromising the safety of airport operations.
“Flick will be able to provide valuable additional capability to FENZ firefighting operations throughout Nelson-Tasman,” Mark says.
The specialist nature of airport firefighting operations means Flick is set up to deliver foam and water within seconds of arrival at an incident, features that are not standard for other emergency firefighting vehicles. Flick’s capabilities will be particularly valuable in responding to any incidents where large quantities of firefighting foam or on-demand water availability are required.
Nelson Airport firefighters have undergone training in Christchurch with firefighters from several other regional airports, provided by the vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer. Flick was purchased as part of a bulk order by several collaborating airports, providing price, transport, and training efficiencies.