DFW Airport Public Safety maintains a complement of eight Oshkosh Striker 4500’s, two of which are equipped with the 65’ Snozzle, writes Alan Black, Head of Public Protection at Dallas Fort Worth

The Striker 4500 is the largest of the Oshkosh ARFF Apparatus providing DFW with state of the art ARFF response around the clock. The apparatus measures 11’4” to the top of the handrail and 45’3” from front to back. The drive engine delivers 950 BHP at 2100 RPM with over 2400 Ft. lbs of torque. What that means to the operator is that each day, every day, with clockwork precision, the Striker with its Caterpillar C-18, four Stroke, six cylinder engine will deliver a 116,000 pound load at speeds up to 65 mph, with an acceleration rate of 0 - 50 in just under 35 seconds. There isn’t anything subtle about driving the Striker either. This truck is designed to handle all kinds of terrain from flat highways to rolling hills and rough surfaces.

The Off-Road High Mobility design is all-wheel independent and can handle just about anything nature can dish out. The apparatus are required by the FAA to manoeuvre a 30 degree approach angle, 30 degree departure angle and a 30 degree side angle. The transmission can also manage some very difficult conditions if the weather becomes uncooperative. Using an interlock system, the truck has the ability to ‘walk’ its way out of mud that is virtually up to the frame. Driver mobility is significantly enhanced through the use of Forward Looking Infrared Vision System (FLIR). The operator has the ability to navigate in almost any situation by using a FLIR which has been hooked up to a monitor inside the cab of the truck.

That same tool is also useful in full day light operations to locate potential hotspots onboard Alert aircraft thus speeding response time and reducing inconvenience to passengers. All ARFF must have an array of extinguishing agents. The Strikers carry a complement of 4500 gallons of water, 530 gallons of AFFF, and 480 lbs of dry chemical. Each agent can be delivered through a combination of roof, hand-line or the primary low-attack turret discharging an entire load of agent in less than four minutes. The primary turret is a front bumper mounted turret, which can be adjusted to deliver 600 to 1200 gallons per minute (gpm) across an infinite range of settings and a sweep of 170 degrees.

What makes this low attack turret unique is the ability to be lowered close to the ground and the agent stream directed upwards, giving the operator high-flow access under a wing or fuselage from the protection of the vehicle. The roof turret can flow up to 750 gpms, while the hand lines are set to a manageable 100 gpm rate.

The truck is also equipped with five under-truck nozzles which are designed primarily for protection of the apparatus. Purple-K is the second agent carried on this truck and it weighs in at 480 pounds. The low attack nozzle and the 150’ dualagent hand-line can both flow foam and Purple-K at the same time. The truck is also equipped with two 1 1/2”, 150’ structural hand-lines. The two newest Oshkosh Strikers are equipped with a 65’ Snozzle. The Snozzle is a high-reach extendable turret, capable of several tasks including penetration of the aircraft skin to apply fire suppression agent inside the cabin. Operated from inside the cab, the Snozzle and its components can be utilised to discharge agent, penetrate the aircraft enhancing interior firefighting, and /or monitor through thermal imaging and visual equipment. The tools available to the operator include a base nozzle with discharge range of settings and flow capacity of 600 to 1200 gpm. Then there is a tip nozzle with a fixed pattern and a 500 gpm flow rate. The penetrating nozzle consists of a titanium-tipped rod that can puncture the skin of any aircraft and deliver 250 gpm over a 40’ diameter area.

One additional feature of the Snozzle is the Tip Camera. This camera can be used as a thermal image sensor in colour or black and white and as a plain digital video camera. The images can be downloaded into the onboard computer for retrieval and review at a later date. The ARFF Fleet at DFW Airport provides the airport and its community with a high level of service through a combined 36,000 gallons of water, 4,240 gallons of AFFF, and 3,840 lbs of dry chemical.

About the Author: Alan Black is the Head of Public Protection at Dallas Fort Worth, US

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