Originally Posted by
Pharaoh
We had the same a few weeks ago. Flaps would not extend for some reason so equipment was standing by and escorted us to the gate. Fire guys like to drive around. Not a big deal once the A/C touched down safely.
Agreed it's not a big deal; however, there is a risk here that the fire trucks are rolled out for: Due to the excessive breaking needed to stop a plane executing a no-flap landing at faster than normal speeds, the breaks heat up quite a bit and are at risk of catching fire. After a no-flap landing, the fire trucks usually do an inspection of the breaks and the escort to the gate is to ensure there isn't a smoldering fire that breaks out into a "real" fire during the taxi. It can seem a bit excessive, but better safe than sorry.