Emergency firespeeder

"Fireships to the left and the right."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

The emergency firespeeder was a specialized airspeeder designed to put out fires.

Characteristics
The emergency firespeeder, also known simply as a fireship, was designated a fire suppression speeder and thus was designed to transport large amounts of water and other fire-retardant agents to douse flaming structures and vessels.



It featured an ablative cockpit canopy which allowed brief exposure to intense temperatures. They also had emergency running lights, and an extremely loud annunciator and siren. These vessels featured cowled jet engines in addition to their repulsorlift generators, allowing the vehicles to travel fast.

A firespeeder could accommodate a brigade of fire fighters. It was also equipped with a medical bay to treat injured patients until they could get to a medcenter, as well as a tractor beam projector to clear debris or rescue wounded civilians from dangerous areas.

The firespeeder's tanks were filled with water, foam and other fire retardant agents. There were four sprayers, one on each wing, and they could be controlled from the front cockpit. The firespeeder's co-pilot cockpit was located on the rear of the vehicle and may have been used during an emergency.

History


Firespeeders were deployed by the Republic during the Battle of Coruscant as burning wrecks of vessels from the space battle above began to plunge into the atmosphere since the planetary shields had been weakened by concentrated Separatist efforts. Fire teams were placed on twenty-four-hour emergency alert during this period.

Tractor beam-equipped tow ships caught some of the larger wrecks though some pieces still managed to crash on the planetwide metropolis despite the efforts of the pilots. Emergency firespeeders of Fire Team Three also scoured the skies over Coruscant's large industrial district for any airborne dangers. One of their last missions was to douse the flaming wreckage of Invisible Hand, as, piloted by Anakin Skywalker, it made an emergency landing in the industrial district following the death of Count Dooku.

Days later, when the Jedi Temple was set ablaze during the so-called "Jedi Rebellion", fireships remained grounded, perhaps on orders from Palpatine himself.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga