Cyril E. King Airport Receives $923,421 State-Of-The-Art Fire Truck

ST. THOMAS — The Virgin Islands Port Authority has received a new Global Striker 4×4 aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck for use at the Cyril E. King Airport here, VIPA Acting Executive Director David Mapp announced on Monday.

The equipment includes a 1,500-gallon water and a 200 gallon aqueous film-forming foam fire suppression system, which is essential for extinguishing fuel fires, according to a press release VIPA issued this morning. New features exclusive to this new truck include a digital, computerized operating system that can be operated by one fire fighter, and a penetrating snozzle that can pierce the walls of a plane and distinguish fires in a concentrated area of the aircraft.

The new apparatus replaces Oshkosh Engine 5 at the King Airport – a fire truck about 15 years old and in poor condition, Mapp said. CEKA now has three firefighting apparatuses and meets the Federal Aviation Administration’s requirements regarding adequate capacity to transport fire extinguishing agents (water, foam and dry chemicals), he said.

Mapp added that all 18 of the King Airport’s firefighting crew are currently being trained to operate the new truck by a certified field service technician from Oshkosh Corporation, the company that built the truck.

The ARFF machine costs $$923,421 and was paid for via a FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant. VIPA paid 10 percent of the total cost, as per the grant requirements.

Oshkosh Corporation was the successful bidder on a request for proposal to provide a commercially-produced diesel engine system for CEKA, which is classified as an Index C airport by the FAA. According to the FAA regulations under 14CFT Part 139, airports must own and maintain a specific size of ARFF apparatus according to their respective index.

Correction: October 6, 2015

A previous version of this story included erroneous information in regards to the new fire truck’s price, taken from the original press release that VIPA issued. A follow press release noted the true price of the machine as $923,421. We have updated this story to reflect the correct information.

Feature Image: Global Striker 4×4 aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck.

Image Credit: Virgin Islands Port Authority.