Harrogate Fire Station introduces a Tactical Response Vehicle (TRV)

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have for some years being reviewing and consulting with the public on the strategy for fire pumps and staff numbers.

Harrogate Fire Station will see a single Fire Pump replaced with a Tactical Response Vehicle, manned by a smaller crew.

The reduction in staff at Harrogate and Scarborough stations will see an eventual reduction from 48 wholetime firefighters to 36.
At Malton, Northallerton, Ripon and Tadcaster there will be an eventual reduction from 12 wholetime firefighters to six.
These reductions in staff will occur through naturally occurring movements and leavers.

Group Manager Phil Whild said:The vehicles combine the use of modern equipment and new techniques, along with well trained and highly skilled staff, to deliver a response to emergencies, which is appropriate to the current risk in these areas whilst also being more cost effective. The vehicle and equipment have been designed, in consultation with staff and others, to be operated by fewer staff than a standard fire engine. They are able to deal entirely with some smaller incidents but at larger incidents (e.g. house fires and road traffic collisions) the crews undertake initial actions such as giving first aid and making assessments. The introduction of the vehicles followed detailed analysis of incidents (which are reducing) and risks in each area along with a number of public consultations.

The Tactical Response Vehicles are crewed by three staff, rather than four or five on a standard fire engine. They have the same standard pump as a normal fire engine, but also carry new equipment that is designed to be operated with fewer staff than previously required.

Crews at stations where TRVs will be based are receiving familiarization training on both the vehicle and the equipment, and are also undertaking specific incident scenario training.

The research and development phase of this project, which included members of staff from the affected fire stations, considered the type of vehicle needed along with equipment suitable for use by a crew of three.

A small LGV style vehicle was selected over a pick-up or van based vehicle as this provides far more flexibility with weight capacity and equipment levels. The vehicle has 5 seats and therefore, can carry more staff if required at a specific incident depending upon the incident type.

The pumping capacity of the TRVs enable them to support incidents such as the flooding which occurred over Christmas 2015. They also carry modern equipment such as battery operated cutting equipment.