The new firefighting vehicles, commonly referred to as crash tenders, were officially inaugurated at an event held at the airport on Thursday.

City council member Henning Ravn from Esbjerg Municipality attended on behalf of the city council, which approved the investment in the vehicles.

The investment was a necessary upgrade to the airport’s emergency preparedness, as the previous fleet had become too costly to maintain.

“We agreed that the time had come to invest out here. We haven’t done so for many years, and we also knew the bill would be significant. Safety comes before anything else,” says Henning Ravn.

After taking a ride as a passenger in one of the new vehicles, the council member was enthusiastic:

“It is an extraordinary vehicle. In no time at all, you are travelling at 120 km/h and can discharge 9,500 litres of water onto a burning aircraft in just 2.5 minutes. It is impressive. Overall, it is also a vehicle that can be used for civilian tasks, such as responding to a major fire in Esbjerg. I am very pleased that we made this decision.”

Representatives from Sydvestjysk Brandvæsen and the various helicopter operators at the airport were also present to congratulate the airport and test the new crash tenders.