‘Snozzle’ at the ready: State-of-the-art fire station set for Sydney’s new airport

Within three minutes of an alarm sounding, state-of-the-art fire trucks will be at the scene of any emergency at Sydney’s new international airport after it opens to cargo aircraft late next month.

Like a spear, a tip protruding from a long extendable turret known as a “snozzle” on each of the gigantic fire trucks can pierce an aircraft’s fuselage, releasing a mix of foam and water to douse a fire inside.

Among the 38 firefighters ready to rush to any incident is Amber Murphy, who arrived five weeks ago from Launceston for her role at the station built at a cost of about $100 million beside Western Sydney Airport’s 3.7 kilometre runway over the past two years.

“As we are driving, we are getting ready to respond. We’re sizing up; the flight commander is reaching out to external resources. We’re finding out information – who’s on board,” she explained. “And that’s where our training comes into it.”

Murphy, 28, shows that persistence pays off. Aspiring to become a firefighter, she initially sought to join the Tasmania Fire Service before later gaining a role at Launceston Airport’s fire station for Airservices Australia.

Western Sydney Airport’s fire station will be officially opened on July 9, the same day that a shake-up of flight paths over Sydney will take effect to incorporate the new $6 billion aviation hub.

An Airservices project, the station has three new Striker Volterra firefighting vehicles and a fourth on the way. The plug-in hybrid vehicles – running off either electricity or diesel – are the first of their kind for Australia.

Each of the six-wheel-drive trucks can carry 10,500 litres of water, and spray it farther than 80 metres to douse a fire. They are ready for the start of cargo flights on July 26, followed by airliners on October 25 when a Jetstar A320 will become the first passenger plane to take off from the airport.

The fire trucks’ high-reach extendable turrets are highly manoeuvrable, allowing firefighters to attack fires while they are protected inside their cabs.

Inside the station, a windowless room dominated by screens serves as the control centre, receiving a feed of the airport and aircraft movements from cameras mounted on a digital control tower nearby. It is a change to traditional control rooms at airport stations where firefighters can view movements out of windows.

Manned around the clock, pan-tilt cameras allow firefighters to zoom in on aircraft, while infrared technology ensures visibility at night.

The station is deemed a category-eight operation, which is based on the size of the largest aircraft landing a