The high reach extendable turret or HRET as known in the firefighting industry provides countless benefits to enhance any fire house’s emergency response experience. With having our very own HRET, the Snozzle, Oshkosh Airport Products is well aware of the advantages, and we wanted to share the top three with you. Here’s why we believe the HRET is a game changer on any ARFF unit:

1. Piercing an Aircraft Fuselage

During an emergency response situation, there are two main types of aircraft that you will come in contact with; a passenger plane or a cargo plane. Each type of plane has advantages gained from the use of an HRET.
Passenger Aircraft: A high reach extendable turret has the ability to pierce a passenger aircraft fuselage and spray suppressing agent to knock down the fire and lower the interior temperature to reduce the risk of a flash over. Flash points are a huge threat, especially for the first entry responder. Using an HRET significantly reduces this risk prior to first entry.
Cargo Aircraft: Having a penetrating tip extension, such as the one that can be added to the Snozzle, allows you to reach the source of the fire in a cargo container, penetrate the fuselage, and continue to infiltrate to the cargo container and discharge agent.
An HRET also provides firefighters with the ability to pierce a wide array of materials encountered on or in an aircraft including new materials such as carbon fiber laminates. Proportional hydraulic control for the hydraulic cylinder on the Snozzle allows firefighters to easily pierce through the aforementioned modern aircraft materials.

2. Ability to Use Water and Secondary Agent in Places Where You Normally Couldn’t

While trying to put out a fire, sometimes areas on an aircraft are unreachable due to pesky angles. A high reach extendable turret allows you to accurately and easily put water and secondary agent onto fires from angles otherwise impossible or difficult. This can be advantageous from two different positioning types; high attack and low attack.
High Attack: Positioning an HRET in the high attack position allows you to discharge from a safe standoff distance away from the fire. Instead of having to discharge a water stream upwards at the fire, you can raise the HRET in order to discharge water at the same level.
Low Attack: An HRET deployed in the low attack position can easily reach and extinguish common landing gear fires. If your ARFF unit is positioned over a gulley or embankment of any sorts, the high reach extendable turret can stretch below the height of the vehicle in order to spray water or secondary agent up into the engine or another area on the bottom of an aircraft.

3. Firefighter Safety

Safety is always the number one concern when responding to an emergency situation on the runways. There are multiple factors that can affect the protection of yourself or a comrade. Rather than going into an aircraft or structure, first entry can be accomplished with the HRET. The Snozzle has optional FLIR and color camera attachments, allowing you to look inside and assess the situation. You can also immediately begin discharging water, foam or chemical agents. This can be life-saving if the emergency situation is not what you had originally assessed or something unexpected happens.

Topics: ARFF, Trucks, Turret, HRET, Striker