07.12.2008

Fire department shuns platforms

According to the BBC and most of the Scottish press, at least one of Scotland’s fire brigades is considering legal action after paying nearly £1 million for two combined fire engine/Aerial platforms that it says do not work as intended.

The Magirus Multistar engines were built to combine the capabilities of an aerial platform and regular fire engine in a single vehicle. However, since buying them in 2006, the Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service said flaws had left them non-operational and that they were too heavy at 18.5 tonnes.

The company that sold the units, GB Fire of Brierley Hill, West Midlands, have understandably not commented publicly on the fire brigade's comments,
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The Magirus Multistar on a two axle Volvo

The machines have apparently been returned to the Magirus plant in Germany for modifications on several occasions but so far have only been used for training purposes.

The engines were purchased to improve efficiency by combining two vehicles into one, thus helping reduce staffing requirements and running costs. Brigades in Lothian & Borders and Dumfries & Galloway have also purchased the same appliances along with several English fire services.

We understand that the brigade is now looking at converting the units into either dedicated aerial platforms or standard fire engines.

Gordon McQuade, of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "The unwise rush for so-called modernisation after the national fire dispute was clearly the driving force behind the purchase of these combined vehicles which would have meant less emergency appliances in Central Scotland and in turn would have resulted in less frontline fire fighters and job losses.

Vertikal Comment

The Magirus Multistar has been delivered to a number of fire departments, Including Suffolk, Berlin and Airbus Industries and one assumes that they are not all out of service, although each fire department fine tunes or even modifies the engines to suit their requirements.

This dispute, it that is what it is, would seem to owe as much to an industrial dispute as to a real technical problem.

While we would not pretend for a moment to know what it is like to use this equipment, it is not beyond the wit of man to combine a pump and a decent aerial platform in a good working unit. It also makes good practical sense to do so, particularly for smaller forces.

If you are more knowledgeable than us on Fire equipment, we would be delighted to hear from you on this subject.