Dunedin International Airport is a ball of fire over its new purchase.
Two fire appliances, which increase the airport's capacity, have arrived from Wellington International Airport, airport operations manager Stu Casey said.
Two Austral Trident appliances - one with a capacity of 7000 litres and the other with a capacity of 5500 litres - have replaced two of the airport's four 4500-litre capacity appliances, he said.
The change meant the airport could now service 767-sized aircraft, although no changes were planned to the airport's services.
''[It meant] we can now accept larger aircraft, on a regular basis, if we want to,'' Mr Casey said.
''It didn't really matter to us, but it was just a bonus ... with purchasing these trucks.''
The airport had considered refurbishing its existing appliances but the option did not add up when Wellington International Airport bought new appliances.
''We had approval from the board to start refurbishing our existing ones, but these came on the market.
''They are 22 years old but they have both had refurbishments in the past 10 years.''
The airport's appliances had been there for the past 21 years and the Tridents were in ''far better condition'', he said.
The airport looked at purchasing new trucks but ''we couldn't make it stand up financially''.
Buying the Tridents was part of the airport's long-term strategy and it was hoped the appliances would provide about 15 years of service.
''After that we are hoping to buy new ones and that's been budgeted into the plans.''
The two appliances which the airport was decommissioning were advertised for sale last week.
