Operators of Part 139 airports must provide aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) services during air carrier operations that require a Part 139 certificate.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is tasked with creating the standards and procedures utilized by Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Teams. Including but not limited to even the performance characteristics of the fire trucks utilized.
For instance, one of the differences between a traditional fire truck utilized by a municipality and a firetruck utilized for aircraft fire fighting is that the latter is required to have the capability to accelerate from 0 to 50 miles per hour in 25 seconds or less and reach a top speed of at least 70 miles per hour.
Another interesting difference between a municipal fire truck and an airport firetruck is the amount of water the trucks hold. Since municipal trucks typically have access to a fire hydrant infrastructure they don’t require as much onboard water storage. However, obviously, airports don’t have multiple fire hydrants located around the runway so the trucks must hold much more water.
You may have noticed that airport fire trucks are equipped with a turret. This turret is known as the HRET which stands for high reach extendable turret. This turret is so powerful that it can actually pierce a hole straight through the fuselage of an aircraft to pinpoint fire suppression.
