- 89 % of all flights to/from Atlanta are internal and 152 of the192 gates are reserved for this purpose.
- At peak times, there are over 200 flights per hour and in 2019, Atlanta handled a total of 904,3011 aircraft movements.
- Since 1998, the US hub leads the international passenger volume statistics. With the exception of the corona year 2020, as from 2015, the airport has handled more than a hundred million passengers annually. Atlanta is, therefore, the world’s busiest airport.
Only the best for the biggest
The PANTHER has proven to be absolutely reliable in tough daily operations In 2019, Atlanta, Peking, Los Angeles, Dubai, and Tokyo represented the ranking sequence of the world’s largest airports in terms of passenger volume and they all have one thing in common. As far as the “front line” of their ARFFs is concerned, they all rely on Rosenbauer’s flagship vehicle, the PANTHER.
For example, the Airport Battalion of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department has had six PANTHERs in service for the past two years, which have long passed their baptism of fire and proven to be absolutely reliable in tough daily operations. As a consequence, the Airport has ordered another three PANTHERs with the result that from next year onwards its ARFF vehicle fleet will consist entirely of Rosenbauer ARFF vehicles.
Versatility of the series
Orlando, Miami, Houston, Nashville, and Fort Lauderdale are other large US airports that operate PANTHERs in their fleet, including the United States Air Force, United States Army, and the United States Coast Guard. The versatility of the series plays a decisive role in this connection, as for example the vehicles on 4x4 and 6x6 chassis can be delivered as compact versions suitable for air transport.
In turn, the larger trucks with 6x6 and 8x8 chassis can be fitted with the Rosenbauer STINGER extinguishing arm and thus be augmented to form genuine quints. The extinguishing arm can be extended to 16.5m (20m as an option) and apart from a water/foam turret also carries a piercing tool for remote interior attacks utilizing penetration through the outer hull of the aircraft.
Performance that pays
What makes the PANTHER particularly special is the perfect integration of its chassis, superstructure and extinguishing technology systems, which not only creates maximum driving dynamics and extinguishing performance, but also safety and reliability. When sprinting across an airport, the truck attains maximum speeds of up to 135 km/h and the uncompromising all-wheel-drive system with rigid axles and coil springs gives a smooth ride even over rough ground.
With a firefighting system output of up to 10,000 l/min, the extinguishing agent payload can be depleted in less than 120 seconds. The vehicle’s water/foam turrets have a range of up to 100 m and during pump & roll operation, the turrets and self-protection devices can be activated during the response.
Depending upon the axle configuration, (4x4, 6x6, or 8x8), a PANTHER carries between 7,000 and 19,000 l of extinguishing agents to the emergency scene. Moreover, the diversity of the extinguishing agents on board, means that fire services can successfully deal with any fire, irrespective of whether this involves burning kerosene, aluminum, or composite materials, etc.
Everything for safety
PANTHER can be equipped with a 360-degree Birdseye view camera, which gives the operator an overhead view When responding to an alarm, the PANTHER crew is ideally protected in its crash-tested and ECE R29-3 certificated cabin. A high-strength X-frame also forms a safety cage around the occupants. Optimum panorama vision is provided by generous glass areas in the cab and sufficient light is furnished by powerful halogen searchlights and scene lights, plus an integrated LED warning light system.
In addition, the PANTHER can be equipped with a 360-degree Birdseye view camera, which gives the operator an overhead view of the area around the vehicle, and a FLIR camera for infrared images in poor visibility. As options, an Electronic Stability Control system (ESC) is available for enhanced driving safety along with a tire pressure monitoring system.
The PANTHER also carries a type of black box, like that used in aircraft, which supplies a permanent flow of data about the vehicle that covers its speed, lateral, longitudinal, and vertical acceleration, the position of the accelerator pedal, the steering wheel angle, activation of the brake pedal, vehicle tilt and the operational duration and location.
Airport Battalion Atlanta
The Airport Battalion at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of the seven units belonging to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department. This is a professional fire service with around 1,100 employees, which has responsibility for the entire city area including the airport. The assignments of the Battalion not only include firefighting in the case of an aircraft accident, but also mobile and stationary fire protection in buildings and emergency medical services.
On the 1,922 ha airport site, it operates five firehouses consisting of Station 24 on the taxiway to the two northern runways (26R + 26L), Station 32 in the terminal area (without ARFF vehicles), Stations 33 and 40 for the two southern runways (27R + 27L) and Station 35 in the cargo zone.