Stornoway Airport has taken delivery of a state of the art fire appliance, the latest addition to the HIAL Airport Fire Service 23-strong fleet.

The recently refurbished Simon Protector vehicle is fitted with the company’s latest dual operating system that allows fire fighters to change between training and operational modes with the flick of a switch.

In training mode the appliance uses TF3 foam, developed by HIAL in conjunction with commercial fire specialists Angus Fire to meet the latest environmental standards for flame suppressing foam in fire training situations. In operational mode the vehicle discharges industry-standard fire-fighting foam.

TF3 foam is a UK aviation industry first and was recently demonstrated at Inverness Airport to fire fighters, environmental specialists and airport representatives from across the UK.

The vehicle, the third fire appliance at Stornoway, also carries 2,000 litres more water and 200 litres more foam than current vehicles and can carry five crew. It is equipped with high-power lighting to support night operations and has more equipment storage space than its sister vehicles.

Jim Currie, Senior Airport Fire Officer at Stornoway said: "The new vehicle has enhanced operational capabilities and is an important addition to our fleet at Stornoway. The dual foam system allows us to meet the latest environmental regulations for fire training while still being able to work in a real incident."

Seonaid Clarke, Manager of Stornoway Airport with Highlands and Islands Airports, added: "Environmental compliance is an important commitment for the company and the new appliance will help us meet the most recent regulations from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It also enhances our Airport Fire Service capabilities as the airport continues to see increasing volumes of traffic."

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