The geographical spread of our Volvo FL Emergency One Pump Ladder continues with a version as used by West Sussex Fire & Rescue, registered GN20 YGW. One of the latest UK fire appliances to appear, the Volvo FL is built to take a 6-man crew in the extended crew cab. And it features many up to the minute technical features as well as having fully automatic transmission. Another feature is anti-bandit glass to the windows to protect the crew from violent attacks.

The West Sussex Fire Authority was constituted under Section 4 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 and is responsible for overseeing the Fire & Rescue Service, whose headquarters is in County Hall, Chichester. As well as attending fires, the WSFR  is proactive in increasing awareness of simple things like gas checks, testing your electric blanket before winter,  advice on getting chimneys swept and many other fire preventative things we can all do but sometimes forget.

Our 1:76 scale model is a replica of GN20 YGW painted in the statutory red with yellow masking to the sides and the rear and with additional silver masking to the shutters. The West Sussex Fire & Rescue crest is printed in full colour on the cab doors with the Service’s name printed in black along the roof line of the vehicle. The extensive roof ladders are silver, as are the ladder supports at the back.  The radiator grille is black above which sits the Volvo badge and the words Fire on each side, one reversed to make it easier for vehicle drivers in front to see it coming. An interesting set of initials UHP is printed above the cab window indicating Ultra High Pressure.    Ultra high pressure is defined by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) as pump pressures above 1100 psi. By flowing water at these pressures, 10x the surface area is created by breaking down conventional water droplets into 64 smaller droplets allowing for at least a fifth of the water usage.   We learn something every day!