Unsafe fire vehicles get thumbs down

Firefighters in South Yorkshire are concerned about serious flaws with the type of fire engine that the service uses.

Combined aerial rescue pumps vehicles (CARP), which were bought as a cost-saving measure, are viewed by firefighters as unsafe and unreliable. A number of problems with these multi-purpose vehicles have been catalogued by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in South Yorkshire. The problems have included the vehicles frequently having mechanical problems, being too heavy for UK roads, and the “cherry picker” platform becoming jammed. Ironically, they’ve even been known to catch fire.

John Gilliver, secretary for South Yorkshire FBU confirmed that CARP vehicles are constantly being repaired and that a fire on an appliance had to be extinguished by crews.

“We’re concerned for the safety of the crews going out on these vehicles,” said Gilliver. “Management are saying these are teething problems, that’s simply not true. I’m an appliance driver with years of experience and yes, we’ve had teething problems before, but never to this level. One day I’m sure someone will be killed. They should come off the road, enough is enough, we need to get to the bottom of what’s going on with these vehicles.”

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service admitted that they had “experienced a number of operational issues with our CARP appliances since they first became available in April”.