A brand-new misting unit has been launched and is ready to be used across the county when it comes to fighting rural fires.
The vehicle – a UTV Polaris – has been introduced within the Service following a huge increase of rural fire incidents across Nottinghamshire in the summer months of 2022.
A project was launched as part of our service delivery and improvement to ensure fire crews had advanced equipment to enhance their ability to respond effectively to any incidents that may come in, including rural and woodland firefighting.
The Polaris, aka the new ‘misting unit’, is equipped with a firefighting pump that will allow us to access deeper into wooded areas. This will improve the services ability to access difficult to reach areas, reducing time and effort spent transporting both people and water, to remote fires.
Firefighters from Tuxford Fire Station – which is where this unit will be based – have been training with this new vehicle, to ensure they’re ready to use it when needed, especially when tackling larger scale outdoor fires.
Tom Staples, Group Manager for Response, said: “In Summer 2022 we saw an increase in outdoor fires and this year we wanted to be more ready than ever and to be prepared for all eventualities.
“We have recently introduced the firefighters at Tuxford Fire Station to the new misting unit, where they’ve carried out training with the vehicle, to ensure they know exactly how to use it at incidents.
“We are excited to see the vehicle out at incidents and being used by crews – it will help us deal with incidents more effectively, with the ultimate goal of becoming an outstanding public service, with local communities at the heart of everything we do.”
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