A firefighting giant for the airport
It is the largest fire-fighting vehicle in Switzerland: the 48-ton Z8 vehicle that has just been put into service at Zurich Airport.
Just on the day that storm "Burglind" sweeps through Switzerland, Zurich's Chief Security Officer Richard Wolff officially handed over a new fire engine to the airport's professional fire department. The 1250-hp "Florian 9," as it is known by its radio call sign, is the largest and fastest fire engine in Switzerland.
Water tank holds 12 500 liters
The Z8 vehicle weighs in at an impressive 48 tons and is being used for the first time in this country. The airfield firefighting vehicle of Schutz und Rettung Zürich (SRZ) has a length of 12.1 m, is 3 m wide and 3.8 m high. Its water tank holds 12,500 liters and the foam agent tank 1500 liters. According to the SRZ, the fire pump has a capacity of 10,000 liters per minute. Such performance is important for the airport, because within three minutes, over 32,000 liters of water must be able to be brought to any point on the site, according to the statement. The maximum speed of "Florian 9" is 140 km/h and the firefighting giant accelerates from 0 to 80 km/h in less than 25 seconds. (pd/rs)
