Fire Engines Photos

This muddy German forest road does illustrate why German fire companies love their 4X4 trucks so much!

I like the neat winch installation. The actual winch is mounted to the frame behind the cab, with only the hook attached to the front bumper. There is an open trapezoidal winch cable guide running between them.

A surprisingly large number of quite small German village volunteer fire companies have a heavy rescue truck like this (level 2 rescue): they do tend to keep them in service for 20 to 30 years, however, because they do not usually have a very busy life.

Added by Rob Johnson on 24 September 2013.

All German volunteer fire services buy appliances that stay at least 25 years in service this requires a vehicle that is capable of being modified to meet future needs.
In rural areas appliances are allways 4X4.

Added by Chris Hall, Hameln, Germany on 25 September 2013.

The rather lengthy vehicle service life - combined with the large numbers of dedicated rescue trucks (RW) amongst volunteer fire companies in Germany - helps explain why rescue pumpers (HLF or LHF) are still mainly confined to full-time fire services in Germany, and not yet all that common in volunteer fire company fleets.

As for 4X4s, they are not only almost universal among small town volunteer companies, they are also quite common in many large city brigades.

Funnily enough, Germany seems to be one of a very small number of countries with this emphasis. In most other places, 4X4s are more or less limited to dedicated off-road brush and forest fire fighting pumpers and tankers.

Added by Rob Johnson on 30 June 2014.

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