Government Minister witnesses unveiling of new fire service equipment

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Salford MP, the Rt Hon Hazel Blears at the unveiling of six new fire engines as well as other specialist vehicles on 25th April 2008..

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The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Salford MP, the Rt Hon Hazel Blears visited Eccles Fire Station on 25th April 2008 to witness the official handover of six new fire engines* and a water incident unit**.

The vehicles were handed over by the Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Fred Walker, and Hazel Blears handed over the keys to a specialist vehicle*** provided by the government under the New Dimensions project.***

The new specially designed engines and water incident unit for Salford, Agecroft, Eccles and Irlam fire stations are part of an ongoing replacement programme that ensures Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service provides a high quality emergency service for the public of Greater Manchester.

The Volvo engines allocated to Salford Borough were six of 16 purchased by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service representing a total of £2.6 M investment in the frontline fleet.

The water incident unit and its sister unit which is stationed at Heywood Fire Station, cost over £75,000 each and has a much higher specification than those that they are replacing. A rescue boat has been stationed at Eccles for many years, and the current Water Incident Unit has been in service since 1994 **.

Hazel Blears MP handed over the keys to a specially designed Detection Identification and Monitoring Vehicle (DIM)*** which is a highly specialised vehicle designed to be a regional resource for the North West, or anywhere in the UK it may be needed. It was equipped with state of the art equipment designed to assist firefighters in the identification of unknown materials at a range of incidents, utilising inbuilt testing machinery and an onboard data base, as well as allowing access to other databases using an inbuilt communications system.

During the visit to Salford Borough Headquarters the invited dignitaries also got the chance to see displays by some of the partnership groups who work with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service such as Firefly and The Prince's Trust. They also witnessed the County Fire Officer, Barry Dixon, presenting a certificate of thanks to the firefighters from the Chief Fire Officer of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, for the assistance that firefighters from Greater Manchester gave as part of a national response to the flooding incidents in 2007.

About the fire engines:

*Costing over £150,000 each and programmed to have an operational life of 12 years the new fire engines have a range of design feature including –

• An engine rated to Euro 4 environment standards and an added feature of exhaust after treatment, which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 95% and particulate emissions by up to 99%, and a crew cab designed to reduce noise.
• CCTV systems designed to aid in the defence against attacks on firefighters.
• A new lower square design than the service’s traditional design which is almost one third of a tonne lighter and is fitted with rear air suspension which can be lowered at an incident, allowing easier access to equipment.
• A body construction  now made as a single composite GRP superstructure complete with a fully integral water tank which is much lower than the appliance its replaces. This creates a lower centre of gravity ultimately improving overall performance. 

 **A rescue boat has been stationed at Eccles for many years and this Water Incident Unit is equipped with all the latest technological advances including all heavy equipment stowed at low level, in most cases mounted on swing out arms to facilitate easier removal. The vehicle is also fitted with rear air suspension which can be lowered at an incident to make equipment removal even easier.

With GMFRS Rescue Boats carrying out 74 rescues during 2005 & 2006, the Brigade has moved to a light weight inflatable rescue boat which can be carried inside the vehicle bodywork, negating the need for a trailer. This compact design of boat is designed to be inflated and made ready for use in less than two minutes, and its light weight construction requires the minimum of crew to carry the craft to off road quarries, estuaries or river banks.

*** The Detection Investigation and Monitoring (DIM) capability is part of the Government's investment of over £200million in specialist equipment and resources for the Fire and Rescue Services in England.  Known as the New Dimension project this has provided the FRS with specialist equipment and dogs for rescue from collapsed buildings, mass decontamination and high volume pumping equipment to help deal with the challenges of today's world whether they are from industrial accidents, or terrorist or weather related incidents.

The DIM teams located throughout England enhance the ability of the FRS to attend chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents. Each DIM unit contains a range of equipment to detect and identify chemical and biological contaminants, detect gamma and beta radiation sources and identify a range of radioactive isotopes.  Deployment of the DIM capability within the early response phase of an incident is required to ensure that responders have the appropriate information on the nature of the threat to which they are responding and enables the Fire and Rescues services to take efficient and effective action.