Crews scale new heights to battle fires
A GLASGOW fire crew unveiled its latest piece of kit in a bid to tackle high-rise fires.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) showed off the new Volvo FM chassis, with its purposebuilt Rosenbauer Aerial Ladder Platform, (ALP) that will allow the crew to reach new heights.
According to Stuart McQueen, group manager for the SFRS, based at Maryhill, the new appliance cost more than £600,000.
At a total reach of 32m, the appliance can now reach up to the ninth floor of a high rise instead of the eighth like previous models, giving the firefighters more options when it comes to tackling fires as well as rescue situations.
Stuart added: “We will be able to get water on to sites before we commit firefighters to make an entrance, giving more protection to crews on the ground before they commit to fires at close quarters.
“Anything five floors and above, this will attend it,” he added.
“Any dwelling fire within a multi-storey will be attended by this appliance, which will assist us with firefighting and also rescues. It’s going to benefit the communities as well as the firefighters.”
Crews are keen to be trained up to use the new appliance.
Stuart said: “The watches have been fantastic, they’ve organised the training themselves, there’s been people coming in on their days off to get the training done.
“We got five trainers in place last autumn, but because of the way the shift system works, they’ll do their seven tours of duty then they’ll have 18 days off.
“So it’s been very difficult to get the training all completed, due to the time it takes to get the training done.”
Stuart said he doesn’t believe there are any immediate plans for another appliance like this in Glasgow, but it is “constantly reviewed”.
He added: “Glasgow’s becoming more built up, so they might look at the review and decide at some stage, right we need another height appliance.
“I wouldn’t write it off, but we’re well served because there’s other height appliances still dotted about Glasgow, and that we can pull into the city from surrounding areas when we need them as well.”
The city has seen its fair share of major fires in recent memory with Victoria’s nightclub and the Glasgow School of Art both seeing extensive use of height appliances in attendance over multiple days. Situations that this new “toy” would be perfect for.
“It has been very well received by the station,” Stuart added.
“You can see how keen they all are. It’s a cracking piece of kit and it’s some investment, a massive investment.
“Everybody’s desperate to get the first job on it, so they can say they were first.”
In the latest figures for Scotland released by the SFRS in October, Glasgow was placed second in the country for accidental fires per dwelling at 274.7 per 100,000 dwellings. Behind only West Dunbartonshire on 312.7.