Aiming high with latest investment in county's fire and rescue service

Norfolk's brand-new Aerial Ladder Platform is having its first outing this week at a prestigious national Fire and Rescue event. 

The £1million capability will belong to Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service and be vital in emergency rescues from height and help in tackling fires from above extinguishing them quickly and safely. 

This latest piece of equipment is part of an investment by Norfolk County Council, which has also included a phase one rollout of the first 22 new fire appliances across Norfolk, and specialist wildfire kit and personal protective equipment. 

"Providing our fire and rescue service with the best modern kit and equipment allows them to respond to emergencies right across Norfolk in the most appropriate way. Our service attends all kind of incidents, including rescues from height and fires which require support from above," said Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Cabinet Member for Communities at Norfolk County Council. 

The new ALP enables firefighters to tackle fires in spaces which are unsafe to enter from the ground and provides a bird's eye view with its new camera system, giving oversight of an incident to support colleagues at ground level. The new capability offers increased safety and welfare facilities for operators as well as enhanced rescue capabilities. The boom package on the vehicle is taking us higher than before with us reaching heights up to 45 metres. 

It is being unveiled at the UKRO (UK Rescue Organisations) event taking place at Portsmouth's historic docks this week. This event involves teams from fire and rescue services across the UK to compete in different rescue challenges, share techniques and test new equipment. We have teams competing in events themed around trauma, extrication and our K9 duo. 

Once all those staff who will be operating the new Bronto Skylift F45XR ALP have been trained in its use, it will be going "on the run" at North Earlham Fire Station, with the current one there being moved to King's Lynn North to replace its ALP there which is now at the end of its working life. 

Over the last year, Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service has introduced 22 new fire appliances, at a cost of close to £7 million across the service. These have gone to replace ageing models across the service. Further appliances will be heading out on the road as part of further phases in the coming years. 

As a result of those new fire appliances, the service will be providing one of the old appliances, previously stationed at Heacham, to our friends at Norfolk Fire Museum. 

Chief Fire Officer Ceri Sumner said: "As a modern fire and rescue service, we want our teams to be able to attend emergencies safe in the knowledge that we have provided them with the best kit and equipment available to support them in all types of incidents. The new ALP and ongoing rollout of new fire engines is all part of that and replaces current equipment which has reached end of life." 
 
In recent months, the service has also introduced a new fleet of response cars you will see staff attending incidents in red Hyundai Tucson hybrid cars and Volvo XC60s, replacing previous older models. 

A spokesman for Angloco said: "We are proud to be delivering the latest Bronto Skylift F45 XR Aerial Ladder Platform to Norfolk FRS.  Our innovative approach to integrating and utilising the latest technology in our vehicles ensures that firefighter safety is at the core of our designs. We will be demonstrating this appliance's capabilities in casualty and rope rescue at the UKRO competition on 27/28 September, being held at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. It has a bespoke body built by Angloco and was designed in close collaboration with Norfolk FRS to provide customised stowage for their crew's specialist equipment as well as provision for futureproofing."