Its speed, unparalleled firefighting performance, off-road capability, and crew safety: the PANTHER's capabilities make it the perfect airfield firefighting vehicle. But it is precise because of these capabilities that PCK-Raffinerie GmbH uses the PANTHER for another, no less demanding purpose.
Almost all the fuel requirements in the Berlin and Brandenburg region are met by the PCK refinery in Schwedt an der Oder. About 1,200 employees work here, and 2,000 more in other companies located on the refinery's huge site. Over ten million tons of crude oil are processed at the refinery.
It is supplied by several oil pipelines, including one of the largest pipelines in the world. And this is exactly where the new PANTHER 6x6 STINGER 54 comes into play.
Contain fires quickly
A possible fire at the refinery or even on the pipeline is a scenario in which the new PANTHER plays a major role. In the event of a fire, the vehicle can use its speed and high extinguishing performance to contain the fire and buy time until reinforcements arrive. And that's exactly what this PANTHER 6x6 is equipped for.
Rosenbauer N80 built-in pump with a capacity of up to 8,000 liters/minute at 10 bar achieves the maximum extinguishing effect The 750 hp powerful engine provides the appropriate propulsion to get to the scene rapidly. Thanks to the rear-axle steering, the PANTHER 6x6 for the PCK refinery is also extremely maneuverable and has no problems even negotiating tight curves at the plant site. The 10,500-liter extinguishing water tank and the 1,300-liter foam agent tank guarantee the supply of extinguishing agents for the initial attack.
Thanks to the Rosenbauer N80 built-in pump with a capacity of up to 8,000 liters/minute at 10 bar, the extinguishing agent can also be applied in correspondingly large quantities and quickly to achieve the maximum extinguishing effect.
Foam extinguishing system and thermal imaging camera
The heart of the extinguishing system on this PANTHER 6x6 is the CONTI CAFS foam extinguishing system in combination with the Rosenbauer STINGER 54 extinguishing arm, which not only has an RM 65 launcher attached, but also a thermal imaging camera. The extinguishing foam is perfect for firefighting because, on the one hand, it clings to the source of the fire - such as the pipeline - and, on the other hand, it unleashes its great cooling effect.
The source of the fire can be localized with the thermal imaging camera and extinguished with pinpoint accuracy from above with the STINGER extinguishing arm. The PANTHER 6x6's other equipment is also well worth seeing: for example, an RM 15 front-mounted searchlight or the EMEREC digital deployment management system from Rosenbauer.
The PANTHER 6x6 for the PCK refinery is currently one of very few airport fire fighting vehicles in Europe that are not in service at an airport. However, the unique capabilities of the PANTHER could mean that, in the future, the "big cat" from Rosenbauer is seen more often outside its original hunting grounds.