Photos of the new Bronto 32 MDT Volvo Euro 5 ALP for Preston Curcus supplied by Angloco.

Photos of the Pumping Appliances following the successful launch at the Royal Pavilion Brighton including the Chairman of the Fire Authority (Councillor Mike Murphy) handing over the keys to Des Prichard, Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive.

The new Echo pump complete with 1-7 foam has now been placed on the run at Stn 12

Once again the duty crew worked closely with the engineering department at Bexhill workshops to make the change over a seamless task.

The photo shows the engineering team carrying out certification of the foam units prior to going on the run the team includes Engineering, Clan Tools, Schmitz 1-7 John Dennis Coach Builders and two Engineering colleagues from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service who took the opportunity to work with and carry out training on the systems prior to delivery of there own units.

All three of the above appliances are fitted with the latest 1-7 foam systems.

Whilst placing new vehicles on the run the subsequent cascade of displaced appliances has also taken place and is up to date with over twenty cascade vehicles being fitted out.

Three of the five new spare Pumping Appliances are on the run with the manual and risk assessments carried out including the application of Firestore an IT program designed to confirm manual handling requirements.

12 Metre Ladders are being fitted to new and retrofitted to cascade and spare appliances.

The new ALP is due for inspection and testing during the last week of May with delivery to the main dealer for PDI during June.

New pumping appliances have now gone on the run at Hove, Barcombe, Eastbourne, Bexhill and Crowborough.

Subsequent cascade and temporary pumping appliance moves have been completed at Bexhill, Brighton, Burwash, The Ridge and Crowborough.

New 1-7 equipped foam appliances have also been received and training on the new system is underway.

The ALP is nearing completion with the Water Carrier to follow.

The new appliances have been delivered with their inventory of new equipment such as lighting, branches and ground monitors.

The three Hampshire loan appliances are being delivered back during this week.

The new appliances have already attended a number of significant calls.

Newhaven and Battle are due to receive their new appliances.

The first of the new spare appliance fleet is now at engineering workshops and will have an agreed inventory and been through the Firestore process. All five spare appliances will be of the same model on a 4 metre wheel base.

A handing over ceremony has taken place at the Brighton Pavilion where the Chair of the Fire Authority passed the keys of a new 1-7 foam equipped Volvo/JDC pumping appliance to the Chief Fire Officer and Chef Executive, Des Prichard, noting that the vehicles fitted with Euro 5 engines fully supported Brighton and Hove City Council's air watch programme.

The new water carrier is now well into design and build at Angloco.

The chassis has now been delivered and the specification and inventory has been agreed.

The chassis is fitted with rear steer for manoeuverability.

Again the Firestore process will be used for manual handling with regard to stowage arrangements.

The vehicle will carry 12000ltrs of water in a stainless steel tank the water will be able to be loaded and unloaded utilising the automated vacuum and pressure system as well as being supplemented if need be by an onboard LPP.

The vehicle will be fitted with one 12000ltr dam for collection and two 60000ltr dams for delivery.

Water carrier drawing

Following extensive testing At Bronto Finland the new chassis and associated boom package has been delivered to Angloco Batley for completion of the body work prior to delivery to East Sussex

Photos show the close work of both East Sussex and Hampshire FRA's who have a vehicle of the same specificational requirements and respective engineers carrying out the tests to the vehicles.

Firestore manual handling applied to the new Pumping Appliances photos show the software in use and equipment weighed. The photos show the position of the flow metres in the pump bay.

Over the past weeks, a number of visits have been completed at JDC to allow ESFRS to progress manual handling, equipment specification and stowed location.

H&S risk assessments have been compiled for both the vehicle and newly introduced equipment.

Driver training have completed a visit and are working on the new vehicle manual.

Euro 5 280 bhp engines fitted to ESFRS new pumping appliances, coupled with synthetic oils throughout the drive chain system, enhances the environmental commitment, whilst providing firefighting crews with the latest technology in vehicle engineering standards.

The vehicle build complies with the new BSEN Euro standards incorporating crew and vehicle safety built within the crew cab.

The Firestore screen shot as seen on the software program as applied to our vehicles is shown in the last picture.

Firestore photo

The photos show the inclusion of a hand washing system, fitted in the pump bay, on one of the chassis during its conversion work in Holland, prior to delivery to the body builders.

A photo of the new dash board switches single operation for Incidents Arrival at scene and overrides to allow independent operation if required.

One appliance at fire engineering stage with its 1800 litre water tank (1-7 vehicles will have a 1600 litre tank inserted with two 100 litre foam tanks.

A number of chassis at JDC are ready to be fitted out.

Risk assessments, including the application of the Firestore process, are well under way with engineering and H&S staff, including members of the user group all heavily involved.

Vehicle and equipment manuals are now in the process of development within the engineering department.

The plan has been written so that dates coincide with corresponding watch and drill dates. Local arrangements are possible with STC and Driver Training as long as the start of the next station's training is not delayed - ie the training or concept vehicle is released for use by the next station on the due date shown on the plan.

Training Plan

These photos show the location with relation to the pump bay and the 12m ladder heeel bar fitted to a roll gantry, the beam ganrty is now removed.

The Water Carrier chassis has been completed, inspected and is due to be delivered to our body builders within the next week.

Engineering are working with CPD to complete the user requirements for the inventories for both the Water Carrier and the ALP.

Once the Water Carrier inventory has been completed, the final design for the body configuration can be agreed.

The vacuum tank for the vehicle is currently in build with the sub contractors.

Worldwide shortages of raw materials and sub assemblies continue to effect delivery times across the UK for both vehicles and equipment. ESFRS continue to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the current situation.

The second phase of the engineering process includes the fitting of the power take off and associated equipment, the main water tank, the main pump and its associated panels and switches and the main frame that supports the body.

As this is a new design, a number of technical issues have been overcome, such as the operation of the central locking, the layout of the ladders (on the top of the vehicle), the crew cab steps, the layout of the communication aerials and associated switch location.

Three vehicle bodies have been built and fitted including trays. During this week a visit will be made by our H&S department and Head of ICT to gain a preview of the vehicle and start to put together a risk assessment team.

A recent visit to the JDC site was made by Mike Murphy (Chair of the Fire Authority) to look at the new vehicles and equipment, whilst taking the opportunity to see for himself the background work taking place prior to delivery to ESFRS.

Councillor and Vice Chair Ted Kemble is due to make a visit to JDC during this week.

Members of the engineering team are currently meeting and in contact with the building and contract managers at JDC to move the vehicles along. While delivery dates have moved back, technically we are moving forward at a pace, with the introduction of a new model, the inclusion of the Euro 5 engine at 280 BPH, performance upgrade of the gearbox, reintroduction of the 10.5 ladder and new roof ladder.

A world wide shortage of core materials including a shortage of vehicle chassis have left a number of manufacturers and suppliers with longer lead times.

Volvo have confirmed that all of our vehicle chassis are due to be delivered on time with twin building (two being built at a time) commencing at JDC.

Background work has taken place at Schmitz on the latest 1-7 units with the inclusion of a third C coupling for high rise use. STC staff have made a number of visits to test and observe the systems operating and are currently working with Schimtz to develop the processes.

Two more chassis deliveries are imminent with the rest being delivered as per our contractual requirements.

To assist with pump operating and to complement our new branches and monitors, flow meters will be fitted as an addition to pressure gauges for each delivery in the pump bays.

Dual flow delivery valves have been selected for the new world series pumps to allow the pump operator more control of the water flow from the delivery.

The New ALP chassis has been delivered to Bronto Finland and work is underway to fit the boom package.

The new water carrier chassis has been built and is due for delivery to Angloco in the next two weeks. Orders have been placed for the tank and sub assembles.

It is proposed that as the vehicle will carry 12,000 ltrs of water and have two 6,000 and one 12,000 ltr dam. The vehicle is a vacuum tank with the addition of a light portable pump.

Since January the engineering asset section has moved, repatriated, marked and supplied some 10,000 separate items of operational equipment.

In turn this has been recorded on the asset management system. This work will of course be ongoing whilst we introduce new vehicles and the subsequent vehicle and equipment movements.

Conseptual Drawing

The attached image shows the proposed seating arrangements for the new pumping appliances. This proposal is for the standard cab layout and not the maxi cab layout. The maxi cab appliance has the capabilty to hold 8 firefighters and its seating plan will be the same as current appliances of this type.

The photo shows one of the phase one completed crew cabs in Holland prior to delivery to the body builders JDC in the UK. The first phase of work included chassis packaging such as moving certain components on the vehicle to allow the body to be fitted, the extension of the crew cab to enable us to fit BA onboard and the installation of Security glass.

The photo was taken during a recent Volvo and Supplier Business Team Meeting called to determine the delivery schedules and specifications for the new appliances. The Volvo and Supplier Business Team consists of:-

• Bill Brewster, ESFRS Project Manager
• Gary Walsh, ESFRS Project Executive
• Harry Moon, MC Truck and Bus Volvo Agent
• Nick Uwins, Technical Director JDC
• Jan Hurkmans Estepe, Volvo Vehicle Conversions
• Richard Osbourne, Volvo Fleet and Fire Sales

The meeting confirmed the commitment by all parties to ensure that the vehicle is as specified and its quality is not compromised.

Nine new Officer Response Vehicles have been delivered as part of the Vehicle Replacement Project. Their arrival allows the return of the hire cars introduced to cover officer cars damaged at the Marlie Farm Incident. The vehicles are Ford Focus LX Estates with Diesel 1.8 110 bhp euro 4 engines and 5 star Euro NCAP Safety ratings. They are fitted with new livery, lighting and audible warning systems designed to increase the safety of officers both on the road and at the scene of incidents. The vehicles will be placed into a five year rolling replacement program.

Volvo has built the first five pumping appliance chassis and they are undergoing the first stage conversions in Holland. The first completed conversions will be delivered to the UK on Friday (06 July 2007).

The build program for the new Appliances will follow a specific pattern beginning with the vehicle chassis being built by Volvo at their factory in Belgium. The chassis are then transferred to Volvo in Holland for a body conversion. This involves the construction of the Breathing Apparatus pocket at the rear of the cab extension, ensuring compliance with EC 29, which is the EU regulation that specifies the cab integrity in case of an accident.

When this stage is completed the vehicles are then transferred to the UK Volvo Dealer who completes a vehicle check before sending them onto the Coachbuilders. The Fire Service then carry out a chassis inspection to make sure that it is as per our requirements and this triggers the first stage payment to the Coachbuilders who are the prime contractors.

The Coachbuilders have already started building the bodies ready to be fitted to the vehicles as they arrive.

Officers have completed a mini-competition process in respect to the ordering of fourteen pumping appliances and as a result the Service has appointed John Dennis Coachbuilders Ltd as the main contractor.