A fire truck in Antarctica

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Scania Press Release / March 17, 2015

Having journeyed 15,000 kilometres over the ocean and then another 250 kilometres over Antarctica’s kilometre-thick glacial ice by sledge, the world’s most southerly Scania fire truck has arrived at its new home.

The lemon-yellow fire truck will go into service and spend the winter at the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Troll research station. The station is located in Queen Maud Land, an Antarctic territory subject to some of the planet’s most extreme weather conditions, with wind speeds of up to 60 metres per second and temperatures approaching minus 60 degrees Celsius.

Maintaining the ice

The vehicle’s primary mission is not to extinguish fires, although this kind of duty isn’t as absurd as it first sounds, given the continent’s bitterly cold desert climate. Some 10 years ago, Troll Airfield was opened to aid the operation of the research station. This three kilometre long runway, built on top of the blue glacial ice, is open for transport planes during the Antarctic summer between November and February. Keeping the runway safe involves continual maintenance in the form of scraping and hosing down. Cracks in the ice must be filled with water, and this will now come from the water cannon on a Scania fire truck.

Stein Asgeir Egenes is the Managing Director of Norway’s Egenes Brannteknikk, the company that equipped the Scania vehicle. “This fire truck has been adapted to cope with the low temperatures in Antarctica,” he says. “It’s equipped with a so-called ‘polar package’, including a diesel heater, which also protects the water- and foam-cannon on the roof against the cold.”

Exciting journey

Transporting this unique fire vehicle to the Troll station was a epic story in itself. The trip was carefully planned so that the truck’s arrival coincided with the Antarctic summer, the only time of the year when weather conditions allow for such a venture.

After body building and equipment mounting work was completed on the Scania chassis in southern Norway, the vehicle was driven onto a Denmark-bound ferry. In the Danish town of Aalborg, it was then loaded onto the Mary Antarctica, a ship within the Royal Arctic Line’s polar-going fleet that once a year supplies Troll with equipment too large to be flown in to Troll Airfield during the summer.

Pulled on a sledge

After a 15,000 kilometre sea journey, the vessel docked alongside the Antarctic ice shelf where the world’s most southerly Scania fire truck was carefully lifted ashore. It was then loaded onto a specially built sledge and towed 250 kilometres over glacial ice by snowmobiles. Finally, it arrived at the Norwegian research station, located 1,270 metres above the Southern Ocean.

The Troll research station is manned throughout the year. The area is subject to “mild Antarctic climate conditions”, meaning temperatures sit around zero degrees during the summer and could fall as low as minus 60 degrees during summer.

Just six staff in winter

During the winter months, the station is manned by six people, while during summer it is home to between 25 and 30 researchers.

The station is used for conducting meteorological observations, measuring radiation, and for a range of research programs in fields such as glaciology, biology, and physics.

The main building is about 300 square metres and contains eight sleeping quarters, a gym, a sauna, a large kitchen, a communications room and office space for everyone overwintering at Troll.

A variety of separate buildings contain laboratories, generators and a garage, as well as an emergency evacuation area at a safe distance from the main building for use in the case of fire or other critical incidents.

Safer working conditions

Troll Airfield, the 3000-metre long landing strip that the Scania fire truck will keep open, is a part of the Queen Maud Land Air Network Project, a cooperative initiative involving 11 nations conducting research in the Queen Maud Land territory. The runway can only be used for scientific activities and must not be use for commercial purposes. The facility has made the work of Antarctica’s researchers both easier and less risky.

Kai Johannessen is Principal Engineer, Operations and Logistics with the Norwegian Polar Institute. “The fire truck will primarily be used on the Troll station’s airfield,” he says. “In addition to this, it will be used as a conventional fire truck for the research station, although it will only be in service during the summer season. During the winter season from February until November, it will be drained of fluids to prevent ice damage.”

With the nearest service facility in South Africa 4,500 kilometres to the north and the landing strip only open for a few short summer months, the potential for getting in spare parts in extremely limited. For this reason staff at Troll have several years’ supply of spare parts in stock on-site – both for the Scania chassis and the built-on equipment.

“Our summer team at Troll have received training in managing and servicing the fire truck, and they will in turn train the winter team when they take over,” says Johannessen.

The world’s most southerly Scania fire truck

Chassis: Scania P550CB 4×4 550hp

Bodywork: Rosenbauer MBW (modular system)

Water tank capacity: 5,600 litres

Foam tank capacity: 400 litres

Pump: Rosenbauer N55, 5,500 litre/min at 10 bar

SnowCross winter tyres with studs for optimal grip on ice

CAN-bus digital service- and control system.

Five facts about Antarctica

• Antarctica is the world’s coldest, driest and most windswept continent.
• 98 percent of Antarctica is covered in ice, which on average is 1.6 kilometres thick.
• At the geographical South Pole, the ice is 2.8 km thick.
• Antarctica covers an area of 14.4 million square kilometres.
• The continent is home to 90 percent of the world’s fresh water – in the form of ice.

Additional Images: http://newsroom.scania.com/en-group/2015/03/17/a-fire-truck-in-antarctica/

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