Airport fire safety stepped up |29 December 2005

The six-wheel Emergency One fire trucks, each worth over R3.8 million, are the first instalment of equipment purchased with an $8 million loan from Barclays Bank in South Africa.

In addition to the two trucks, the airport fire fighters will soon receive a fire tender for Praslin airport, vehicles for the proposed Anse Royale and Baie Ste. Anne sub-stations, a rescue boat and training equipment, as a result of the Barclays S.A. loan, according to Chief Fire Officer Mark Brutus.

Described by Mr Brutus as, "latest, state of the art technology," the two new trucks can each carry 12,000 litres of water and 1,500 litres of foam.

Made of aluminium, they come with a 12-year warranty and all of the trucks' fire fighting operations can be controlled by the driver.

Two Airport Fire Service mechanics will travel to the USA in January to receive extensive training on the new trucks, before two engineers travel from America to Seychelles to instruct local fire fighters on how to operate them.

The purchase of the new equipment follows the recent raising of airport safety standards by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

ICAO categorises safety standards on a scale of 1 to 10, with a score of 10 required to land the world's biggest Airbus passenger aircraft.

With the arrival of the new fire trucks, the Pointe Larue Airport Fire Service will continue to provide level 8 standards of safety.

According to Mr Brutus, Seychelles' score of 8 makes it the best in the region.