Press Release

Aero firefighters help in their region

They go out to up to 150 rescues a year

Vodochody, 6. 3. 2024 – AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE company firefighters go to up to 150 rescues outside the company gates every year. In 2023, as part of their involvement in the integrated rescue system in Central Bohemia, they intervened in 146 cases, 70 of which were traffic accidents, which often occur on the nearby motorway. Firefighters also provide first aid. Last year they helped 55 injured persons and evacuated 92 people. Over the past year, Aero firefighters have streamlined their capabilities in rescuing people and intervening at heights.

“Our team took an advanced combat first aid course taught by soldiers with experience from foreign missions. This is intensive acute first aid to keep a patient alive. Aero has also purchased the equipment needed to do this, including military tactical first aid equipment,” explains Oldřich Martinák, commander of the Aero firefighting unit, who has been serving here for 35 years. “I consider this efficient and quick treatment of injured people and equipment to be very beneficial, including the defibrillator that has been in use for a long time. We have already used it several times to save lives and provide first aid to the injured,” adds Oldřich Martinák.

“We have also made our intervention capabilities at heights more effective, and for a year we have been using a new AZ 30 – Magirus automotive ladder with a 30-metre extension set. During the year, we used it several times, for example, to rescue people or building fires. These included the rescue of disabled people from the enclosed spaces of a prefabricated building or during a threat with an explosive device,” Oldřich Martinák describes in other news. Last year, Aero firefighters also intervened in 36 fires and in 19 cases provided technical assistance, for example, to open flats when a person in need of quick treatment was inside.

The AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE fire brigade is part of the company and is based on its premises near Prague. Nevertheless, every year it goes to about 150 interventions in the Central Bohemia region, where it is called in case of serious incidents. It is a team of top professionals who can deal with a large number of serious situations. They are also supported by modern equipment. Based on a cooperation agreement with the Central Bohemian Region, Aero’s company firefighters take care of about 15 kilometers of the area, which corresponds to about 10 minutes of driving. The team of professional firefighters consists of 33 men who serve in 3 shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Their main job is to take care of fire safety and first aid at Aero, including securing flight operations at the company airport. Only about six other firefighting units in the country that serve at airports can do this. They are governed by much stricter international regulations. To intervene outside the company, firefighters have two minutes by law to go out. If they are heading to an airport, they have to extinguish the fire within the third minute of being notified, while firefighters at Aero have about 40 seconds to leave. In addition to the higher technical parameters of the vehicles, a high level of training of the team is needed, which can extinguish burning aircraft, as well as deal with aircraft accidents and emergencies. For this, Aero firefighters undergo annual overseas training at the UK’s Teesside Airfield, where, coincidentally, an L-159 ALKA squadron in the colors of operator Draken Europe also operates.

AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. focuses on the development, production, maintenance, and modernization of civil and military aircraft and is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest aircraft manufacturers in the world. In the field of its own aircraft, Aero is a permanent partner of a number of military air forces and has a strong position in the market for military trainers and light combat aircraft. With 11,000 aircraft produced in its 100 years of existence, hundreds of L-39 Albatros aircraft still in service with dozens of military operators and a number of demo teams, and especially with its new L-39NG aircraft, Aero has established itself as a leader in the global jet trainer market. In the civil aviation sector, Aero works with major aircraft manufacturers on a wide range of projects and is a partner in several risk-sharing programs, where it is responsible not only for the manufacture and assembly of aircraft assemblies but also for their development.

Kontakt:
Radka Černá, PR & Communications Manager
e-mail: radka.cerna@aero
mobil: +420 608 974 258
www.aero.cz
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