Frankfurt Airport this month opened a new fire station. The project means that the airport will be able to improve the efficiency of its firefighting operations by moving from four stations to three. All while maintaining and even enhancing its current level of protection.
Fire stations are an important part of the airport infrastructure. While one hopes there is never a need to use the facilities, having such a department could mean the difference between life or death, should the worst happen such as a major crash. With this in mind, a lot goes into planning the fire protection available at an airport.
Welcome Fire Station 1
Earlier this month, Frankfurt Airport opened its newest fire station, Fire Station 1. The Station is located towards the south of the airport, in between Lufthansa’s Airbus A380 maintenance hangar and Runway 18. While taking the name Fire Station 1, the station is actually the fifth currently standing on the site.
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It is designed to take loads of the old Fire Station 1, in addition to Station 3. Meanwhile, Fire Station 2 will remain as is, while Station 4 will be renamed as Fire Station 3. Station 2 will also undergo a modernization program.
While it may sound like three stations is a downgrade from four, Frankfurt Airport sees it as quite the opposite. Personnel will be deployed more effectively, as the complexity of operations will be reduced. This will enhance the service’s protection, with Annette Rueckert, Head of Fire Prevention at Fraport, commenting,
“The new concept not only not enables us to continue meeting the legally required response times throughout the airport, but also to protect specific areas even more effectively.”
Not just a fire station
While its primary purpose is as a fire station, the new facility will be used for so much more than just fighting fires. In its role as a fire station, the facility has the capacity to hold 18 large fire trucks. It also has changing rooms, a respirator workshop, and 33 individual restrooms. This means that it can be crewed by 31 firefighters around the clock.
Adjoining the fire station on a 2.1-hectare site is a new firefighter training center. In order to train the firefighters of tomorrow, the facility has an 8.5 meter high 30-meter long training bridge, and a 23-meter tall tower with a smoke generator. Commenting further, Rueckert added,
“This new fire station is technically state-of-the-art and combines a multitude of important functions. Our advanced practice facilities let us train future firefighters under realistic conditions and optimally prepare them for their jobs.”
You can read more about the ICAO requirements for fire stations and other airport infrastructure on one of our long reads, Airport Infrastructure – Everything You Need To Know.
What do you make of Frankfurt Airport’s new fire station? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!
