Frankfurt Airport Fire Rescue on Smithsonian Channel

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X-Ray Mega Airport: EPISODE 3 The Airport Never Sleeps

Show airs on Sunday night at 9pmon the Smithsonian channel

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/x-ray-mega-airport/the-airport-never-sleeps/1003971/3425727

At one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world, there is no downtime. It requires watchful controllers, hard-working emergency teams, and high-tech equipment operating day and night, 24/7. Go behind the scenes at Frankfurt Airport and see firsthand how their on-site firefighters control the flames when disaster hits the runway. Enter the air traffic control tower, where another team that never hits the off switch patrols the skies overhead.

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I've been watching this series. Pretty unique show on how they present things, and I am looking forward to the episode above.

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That episode was fascinating. Really ultra-modern and progressive ARFF emergency facilities and equipment they have over the at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.

I also loved the "Safer Then Stairs" firehouse slide from the second floor to the first! When you get there, you have your own turnout gear stand right next to the truck. I also liked the feature where you can start the truck to get it warmed up from the outside of the truck while you are putting on your gear, and the "city bus" style doors and step that makes for really easy entry. The 8x8 Ziegler ARFF trucks that are 54 tons, have two 700HP engines, with 3,000 gallons of water, 200 gallons of foam, and 1200 pounds of dry powder, and can go 90 miles an hour to cover the 3.5 square mile runway response area looked fun to drive. It's neat how everything relates to one another to shave off seconds here and there to meet a mandatory 2 minute or less response time.

The SCBA bottles with their own turnout coat/sleeve and remote control ARFF training props were pretty neat as well. And those high tech De-Icing trucks make you wonder why they can't incorporate that into the fire service.