Beds essex fire engine 180Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have taken delivery of two new fire appliances, as part of a ground-breaking joint money-saving purchasing arrangement to create a standard appliance profile.

The appliances (pictured) are the first of 52 to be purchased by Essex CFRS (42) and Bedfordshire FRS (10) and were received by Beds CFO Paul Fuller and Acting CFO of Essex Adam Eckley from Brian Wiggins and Martin Aust of Angloco Limited, the West Yorkshire company that has built them at a launch event in late November at Bedfordshire FRS HQ.

The new appliances were jointly procured by both Services who put together a standard appliance profile based around the best specification elements from all six Fire and Rescue Services in the Eastern Region. While Essex and Bedfordshire went ahead together to begin the procurement process the other four Services contributed to the specification making this a truly regional specification that could be adopted in any of the Services in the region.

CFO Fuller said: “These vehicles are a much needed and extremely useful addition to both Services’ fleet. This is a great example of collaborative partnership working, not just between ourselves and Essex but with all the regional Services. It has created a fire appliance which includes cutting edge technology and innovations to make firefighting both more effective and safer for our Firefighters.”

The appliances incorporate a raft of specialist rescue equipment along with pumps and hoses which mean they can be deployed at a wide variety of incidents from house fires to complex rescues including road traffic collisions.

ACFO Adam Eckley, ACFO at ECFRS added: “These appliances have been designed to meet the demands of a modern fire and rescue service. Their flexibility reflects the wide range of work our crews carry out and they provide an excellent response capability which can deal with a huge range of incidents and emergencies.” 

Find out more about the key features of the new appliances in a special Dec/Jan FIRE Magazine feature - click here to subscribe from just £30+VAT