Six new fire engines for Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service will soon be ready to respond to emergencies from fire stations across the county.
Despite the fleet replacement programme being delayed by the Covid pandemic, over the coming months, new fire engines, complete with new firefighting equipment, will be replacing older models at Pegswood, West Hartford, Berwick and Hexham stations.
Staff have been involved with the design of the new Fire Engines to ensure that the crews will benefit from the very latest technology which will assist in keeping them, and the communities they serve, safe.
Community Risk and Response Group Manager Stephen Kennedy said: ‘This is an exciting time for us, everyone knows how important Fire Engines and specialist firefighting equipment are in providing our crucial service, and to be in a position to introduce six new vehicles, all furnished with the latest firefighting equipment, is fantastic.
‘This not only improves the fleet and equipment on the stations receiving these new fire engines, it also allows us to cascade newer fire engines and equipment to stations across Northumberland to ultimately be in a position to better serve our residents county wide.’
Northumberland County Council Fire Authority Chair Cllr Colin Horncastle and Chief Fire Officer Paul Hedley visited Blue Watch Pegswood to view the first two delivered fire engines and the full range of equipment they carry. Both fire engines are fully operational and protecting Northumberland communities.
Cllr Horncastle said: ‘These are hugely impressive vehicles, featuring state-of-the-art equipment, which have been delivered because of the investment Northumberland County Council has made to ensure that our fire and rescue service has the vehicles and equipment needed to protect our communities, and respond effectively to the wide range of incidents they may be called to.’
The new fire engines began to arrive in service from July for full kit out and acceptance trials and will all be on stations ready to respond to emergency incidents by the end of the year.
