Having been put through it’s paces by the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, we take a closer look at the Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) from Pickup Systems to see whether, versatility, cost and capability can offer a viable alternative in tackling small nuisance fires.
One in a line of Multi-Purpose Vehicles developed by Pickup Systems the RIV faced by urban and rural fires during it’s trial; Daryl Oprey, Head of Operations for Humberside Fire and Rescue, shares his thoughts on how these SFU’s performed over key fire risks as the end of last year.
“Traditionally the Fire Service has run with a ‘one fire appliance fits all risk policy’,” comments Daryl when we catch up with him, “but as our intelligence and data gathering gets more intricate we’re coming to realise that by predicting where the risk is, we can respond with the right team and the right equipment. We simply don’t need a quarter of a million pound fire engine with a crew of five turning up to a small bin fire.”
Perfect for small nuisance fires the RIV’s unique features include a Fire Fogging system, which uses less water and leads to the tank lying in the bed of the vehicle. The vehicle that took part in the Humberside Trials has a chassis driven by a 2.5 litre D-4D 170 engine with a double cab, capable of 34 mpg and able to carry a payload of up to 1500kg. The bespoke body, designed and built by Pickup Systems features two slide and tilt draws and a 700mm long utility draw. The red extra cab RIV (Rapid Intervention Vehicle) Hilux is different in that the water tank is slung under the vehicle, giving it more space in the bed for the two slide and tilt draws, a huge 1.7 metre utility draw, which is carrying Webber rescue cutting gear. Additional benefits are there’s very little run off contamination, it’s more economical in terms of maintenance and servicing and it’s price tag is 15% of the price of a full tender.
With it’s fast response time and on and off road capabilities many services are using these smaller applications for rural environments; a case in point being the recent peat fires on the moors, which took two weeks to put out. “We were finding in the north of the area, during the peat fires, that the surface fires were being caused by them spreading under the sub strata. We were able to go right onto the moors, which we couldn’t have done to with a fire truck due to its weight and the environmental implications. We were using the SFU which was capable to tackling the rugged terrain easily and by using the underground lance we were able to drive the water into the ground and extinguish the underground peat fires.”
Operating like the Ambulance service, these smaller fire units are mobile, constantly patrolling high-risk stand-points. Unlike the larger fire trucks and crews, which operate from a fixed fire station, these 2 person units, capable of over 30 to a gallon, (unlike their larger counterparts, which field five crew and are only capable of 5-10 miles to the gallon), are therefore always circulating in the risk areas.
With both the first response and SFU operating from 16.00hrs to 02.00hrs every day across Hull, Daryl believes a modern fire fighting service needs this type of flexibility and he believes that public / private partnerships, like the one he has with Pickup Systems, are just the thing to help the Fire Service achieve its goals.
“The best thing about these vehicles is when the smaller nuisance fires have peaked during a particular time of the year and a new threat poses itself, say flooding, we can now detach the fire fighting pump out of the unit and with the space provided, fill it with other equipment; like dry suits for example. With it’s four wheel drive off road capability, we’d be able to mobilise it as a different support vehicle and that is it’s attraction.”
John Mcgauley from Pickup Systems concludes: “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to have our vehicles trialled like this and the feedback from Humberside goes to show, that these vehicles have a roll to play, in that they offer brigades a means of reducing fleet costs, whilst improving services.”
