Fire Engines Photos

The general procedure is to load whatever small gear is thought to be most likely needed, based on the call, along with one or two firefighters, and head on out.

This saves tying up a full crew with a fire truck at a minor incident, when it may be needed elsewhere at a serious alarm situation.

As only 15% of BSPP's non-EMS calls are fires, many of the other 85% can be handled this way without seriously depleting the Brigade's ability to provide cover for real emergencies...

Added by Rob Johnson on 22 February 2018.

I did read a comment in a newspaper (in article about reducing fire cover ) that most incidents attended by the local fire service could be sorted out by one man in a van with a bucket of water . Seems Paris have this arrangement !

Added by CraigW on 23 February 2018.

Craig:

It seems to be true pretty much everywhere, and the idea of using a small crew to respond to less serious incidents is becoming much more widespread. This is happening now especially as the spread of automatic fire alarms creates so many additional calls which almost always turn out to be a waste of time...

Some brigades - especially in Germany - load a variety of gear onto a dedicated minor alarm truck, which is one approach. But in France, Italy and many other places they just throw what they think they may need in a small van, which is of course both less expensive and a lot more versatile!

In the rare event they need extra personnel or equipment, they can of course radio for it, but it seems this rarely happens...

Added by Rob Johnson on 23 February 2018.

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