Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is buying a dozen new fire engines, some of them similar to this one.
Climate change fears spark £3.2m investment in new Norfolk fire kit
by DAN GRIMMER
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
6:30 AM
Fire chiefs have revealed how they are having to spend £3.2m on the fire engine equivalents of “a Swiss Army Knife” because climate change is causing more floods and heath blazes in Norfolk.
The county’s fire and rescue service is investing millions of pounds in a dozen new fire appliances because the traditional two wheel drive vehicles are no longer always up to the increasingly challenging jobs which firefighters are called out to.
Fire chiefs say climate change means cases of flooding and fires on Norfolk heath land in drier summers are on the increase.
And that means the service needs vehicles more suitable for coping with such incidents, according to fire bosses.
That’s why 10 new 4x4 engines are being brought in, along with two heavy rescue pumps, which help deal with road crashes.
Norfolk’s assistant chief fire officer Roy Harold said: “What we wanted was a Swiss Army Knife of fire engines, something with the capacity and flexibility to cope with the challenges we face.
“We have selected a vehicle that can carry everything a normal rescue pump and can seat up to nine firefighters.
“These fire engines don’t have full ‘off-road’ capability but do have that 4x4 extra traction and a wading ability up to 75cms.
“We have done a great deal of work mapping risk patterns and the changing risk profile in our county. These 10 fire engines are much better suited to deal with incidents involving flooding, heath land and forestry.”
Mr Harold said a climate change impact assessment drawn up with the help of Met Office predictions, showed Norfolk would experience even more flooding, with harsher storms in winter and higher temperatures and drought in the summers.
He said: “We know that Norfolk is at increased risk of flooding and you only have to look at how close we came with the tidal surge in Great Yarmouth a few years back.
“And we know from work that the Met Office has done that for every one degree summer temperature hike you get up to 23pc more fires.
“In somewhere like Norfolk we have got Thetford forest and the peat at Methwold, which are susceptible to fires and we need to be able to get to them.
“That’s why we have gone for 4x4 engines which have got that bit of extra grip, to get us through the terrain and flood water.
“I don’t ever want us to be in a position where I cannot get a fire engine through to somewhere that needs it.”
The service has 89 fire appliances in Norfolk. The new 4x4 appliances, the first two of which are due to arrive next month, will be based at Sheringham, King’s Lynn, Loddon, Downham Market, Methwold, Thetford, Great Yarmouth, Martham, Acle and Wroxham.
There are already heavy rescue pumps at King’s Lynn and Norwich, and the two new ones, also due to arrive next month, will be based at Yarmouth and Thetford.
The service used capital grant funding from the government to buy the new kit outright, securing a discount and 2010 prices for the vehicles to save the Norfolk taxpayer around £2m.
Harry Humphrey, cabinet member for community protection at Norfolk County Council, said: “We are constantly aware that our firefighters need the best equipment to keep them safe and this investment is as much about ensuring their safety as it is about keeping our communities safe.”
dan.grimmer@archant.co.uk
Latest News
- South Norfolk Councillors approve council tax freeze
- Royal Anglians “supremely prepared” for Afghan deployment in March
- Lions Club to award unsung young heroes across Norfolk
- Art enthusiasts issue appeal after painting is stolen from The Rumsey Wells pub in Norwich
- Picture Gallery: Langley School pupils take on UEA in polo match
Other News Articles
- Inquest opened into death of Trowse teenager Maisie Baxter
- South Norfolk Councillors approve council tax freeze
- Police investigate comments on tribute site to Norwich teenager Maisie Baxter
- Council vow to remove ‘protest’ camp on Norwich’s Mousehold Heath
- Royal Anglians “supremely prepared” for Afghan deployment in March
- Art enthusiasts issue appeal after painting is stolen from The Rumsey Wells pub in Norwich
- British Transport Police called to report of suspicious passenger on Norwich to London train
- Sale of Peacocks to see Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Dereham and Bury St Edmunds shops to close
- Tributes still coming in for Trowse teenager Maisie Baxter
- Jewellery stolen in burglary at St Williams Way, Thorpe St Andrew
8 comments
Surely if 50% of Norfolk is flooded due to global warming, then there will be 50% less Norfolk straw fires, and thus 50% less Norfolk Fire Engines needed, not more. What have I missed?
Report this comment
popeye
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
There is an old saying which goes something like this: 'Better to have and not to need than to need and not have'. Personally, I wonder why it's taken them so long to acknowledge that pumps are not much use in off road situations? Still well done to them for doing this eventually.
Report this comment
Douglas McCoy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Can a snow plough be fitted to these new fire engine thingys??....just in case the Met office is wrong with their long term predictions of our weather in blighty???? soggy barbecue summer springs to mind.
Report this comment
nrg
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Well done , first class complaining , fault finding and moaning lads.
Report this comment
LARSON.E. WHIPSNADE
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Norfolk Fire Service is like a modern day Noahs Ark. To rescue dumb birds trapped in trees they send out appliances 4x4
Report this comment
chebram71
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I recall that Private Eye used to run a section where spurious links to 9 11 were recorded....perhaps the EDP should run a similar thing with links to climate change? Load of utter nonsense...is there something funny in the water because Norfolk Fire service is having a spate of utterly mad pronouncements?
Report this comment
merrydancer
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Has it got any specialised small birds and feline rescuing equipment ? If not, why not?
Report this comment
John L Norton
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Hmmmm! Wasn't it the Met Offce that advised Heathrow, etc that it did not need to invest in snow clearing vehicles that caused airports to be totally unprepared just over a year ago? If there is evidence, rather than just predictions, of more problems the 'spend' on new vehicles makes sense. But lets hope it is a rational basis rather than ideology.
Report this comment
andy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012