Rollout of new fleet of fire and rescue vehicles to continue into New Year

Four additional tactical response vehicles have rolled into Norfolk as the latest additions as part of a multi-million pound investment by Norfolk County Council to modernise the fire and rescue fleet. 

The four Toyota Hilux 4x4s enable firefighters to quickly attend isolated locations and deal with emergencies in spate weather conditions.

Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: "These smaller vehicles are particularly useful in getting emergency workers on scene quickly to fires in isolated locations, such as forests and clifftops, and to incidents of flooding and deep snow or ice.

"Large fire engines cannot always access such locations easily, and so firefighters in these vehicles can begin tackling wildfires with misting units or start to help a person needing medical care at the scene of an isolated incident while awaiting further resources."

At a cost of £175,000, the new fully equipped TRV vehicles, complete with misting units, will be located at Reepham, Acle, Downham Market and North Walsham early in the New Year. They will join the fleet of TRVs already in service at Cromer, Sandringham, Wymondham, Diss and Gorleston, plus a Land Rover at Thetford.

The investment in TRVS is the latest move to provide specialist equipment for Norfolk, and  comes in addition to the recent £7 million investment of 22 new fire appliances for Norfolk, which replace an ageing fleet that had come of the end of its working life.

Hitting the road over the last 18 months, the new type B Angloco vehicles are now on fire stations at Carrow, Earlham, Sprowston, Dereham, Kings Lynn, Thetford, Great Yarmouth, Hethersett, Attleborough, Wymondham, Diss, Stalham, Aylsham, North Walsham, Holt, Cromer, Fakenham, Downham Market, Watton and Long Stratton. Two others are also in service assisting with training and duty cover. This month, the completion of the project means the final ones have now gone to their home stations.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Anthony White said: "We're grateful for the investment in modernising our service and to those involved in the project to bring in so many new vehicles in such a short time. This work will be ongoing next year as we're committed to giving our teams the best equipment possible to ensure they can do their job efficiently and safely for Norfolk."

A new 45m Bronto Skylift Aerial Ladder Platform vehicle is also now in service, based at North Earlham fire station, whose previous vehicle has now been moved to King's Lynn North. This represents investment of nearly £1m.

New wildfire personal protective equipment was recently introduced to enable firefighters the right protection but in a more lightweight form when dealing with intense fires in the hot summer.

Further investment in fleet and equipment, to ensure crews have the best possible  resources for all the types of emergencies they face, will be coming into service within the next two years. This includes plans for updated vans for the service's nine hydrant and area technicians, to enable them to have reliable vehicles which contain all they need when out on site.