Kisumu International Airport has acquired a Sh105 million state-of-the-art fire engine.
Western region airports manager Selina Gor said the new fire engine dubbed “Ndovu” is one of a kind in the region.
(ICAO).
“We are very proud of the investment because we will be able to respond to any emergency within this airport,” Gor said.
She spoke during a media tour of the facility on Covid-19 preparedness on Friday.
The engine has a capacity of 12,000 litres of water and 1,400 litres of foam.
The discharge rate of the machine is 3,000 litres per minute or 6,000 litres per minute depending on the rate selected.
“It also has a throwing capacity of 80 metres,” chief fire officer in charge of Kisumu and Western region Maurice Oswago said.
The response time, he said, is supposed to be two or not more than three minutes in accordance with international standards.
“It means in if an aircraft crashes at the end of the runway we are able to reach there within two minutes and within not more than three minutes we are supposed to have achieved an environment where we can get in to rescue the passengers,” Oswago said.
Apart from the engine there are also breathing apparatus in place to help in emergencies.
“The firefighters team has to carry oxygen tanks. In the past, we would go to Nairobi to refill the tanks which were not very good. The equipment is in Kisumu now,” Gor said.
With the three fire engines, Gor said they will be able to respond to emergencies outside the airport unlike before.
“As category seven airport, it is required that there must be at least two fire engines on standby all the time,” she said.
Stakeholders, Gor said, had been questioning why the airport could not sometimes respond to emergencies.
Edited by Henry Makori
