Macon-Bibb Fire adds new aircraft rescue truck to improve airport safety

New ARFF vehicle replaces decades-old unit and supports larger aircraft at Middle Georgia Regional Airport

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department has a new addition to its fleet aimed at improving safety at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport.

Fire officials unveiled a new Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Rosenbauer Panther 4×4 truck, designed to respond to emergencies on the airfield. The new vehicle replaces a unit that has been in service since the 1990s.

Fire Chief Shane Edwards said the department had been in need of an upgrade for years.

“We’re actually replacing a 1994 Titan ARFF unit that’s been out here for quite a few years,” he said. “And we were ready for an upgrade. We needed an upgrade.”

Edwards says the new truck brings modern technology that improves both safety and efficiency for firefighters.

“With this new ARFF apparatus Panther four by four, we’re able to come in with this apparatus, the driver can sit there right in the seat the whole time,” he said. “He can operate everything at the push of a button. It’s computer automated now, it’s computer generated which means that everything can be controlled right there at that seat.”

Heather Hillstrom Lowe, deputy director of aviation at Middle Georgia Regional Airport, says the new truck also expands what the airport can handle.

“It extends our capabilities here we can now offer larger flights, larger aircrafts,” Lowe said.

Lowe says the new truck was funded through American Rescue Plan funding and cost $1.1 million. She says it will play a key role in keeping passengers, staff and the community safe.