Tenby Fire Station is trialling an innovative compact appliance.

The Volvo Compact Appliance, currently under trial by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS), went on the run as the main appliance last Thursday.

The station is hosting the second stage of the compact appliance trial, following a four-month operational deployment at Carmarthen Fire Station. The innovative appliance will be deployed as the station’s main appliance, over the trial period, to incidences and will continue to deliver the same high standard of response to the community of Tenby as the previous rescue pump.

The Volvo Compact Appliance has been designed and developed in partnership between MAWWFRS, Volvo and Emergency 1 and boasts the same emergency response capabilities as the main rescue pump appliances, within the service’s fleet, whilst bringing together a combination of new technologies and innovative ideas to introduce new options to the fleet profile of MAWWFRS.

Stephen Davies, head of transport at MAWWFRS said: “This has been an excellent opportunity to collaborate with Volvo and Emergency 1 to introduce a groundbreaking appliance that is tailored to the needs of a Fire and Rescue Service that protects such a diverse geographical area.

“The Volvo Compact Appliance has reduced vehicle dimensions, to improve access, but that does not mean a reduction in vehicle capability.

“Through collaboration with our partners, we have re-engineered the standard 15-tonne Volvo chassis, used on our current rescue pumps, to allow it to be repackaged in a smaller and more manageable footprint.

“This re-engineering, combined with the introduction of new technology, has produced a highly-manoeuvrable 12 tonne vehicle, that offers improved access whilst retaining the core capabilities of our standard rescue pumps.”

MAWWFRS has purchased one Volvo Compact Appliance that has been evaluated at Carmarthen Fire Station, between June and October 2017, and will enter its final trial stage at a third fire and rescue station following its four-month deployment at Tenby.

The new model is based on a modified version of the standard Volvo chassis which reduces wheelbase, track (width), and height, making the vehicle more agile with a reduced turning circle, whilst retaining a GVW of 12 tonnes.

In addition, the vehicle has a Cobra pump installed to assist in MAWWFRS’s evaluation of the innovative firefighting equipment that improves firefighter and public safety whilst using less water than traditional firefighting techniques. As such, the Compact Appliance has a capacity to carry 1,100 litres of water.

The vehicle also carries a suite of Clan e-draulic road traffic collision equipment, as well as a range of other technical rescue inventory items.

This inventory is optimised through a design that incorporates an extended side locker on each side of the appliance which maximises available storage space.

Group manager Steve Bryant, head of service response, added: “Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service would like to reassure the communities of Tenby and the surrounding area that even though you will see a different appliance attending incidents, there will be no difference in our response capabilities.

“The introduction of the new Volvo Compact Appliance at Tenby Fire Station underlines MAWWFRS’s commitment to innovation and represents a fantastic opportunity to further develop our operational response, as we strive to achieve our mission to be a world leader in emergency response and community safety.”