Firefighters at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services are currently trialling the use of two new hose-fitted motorbikes for emergency use when fires are not deemed a threat to the public or buildings.
At a cost of £15,000 each, the two 1200cc BMW bikes are fully equipped to meet the requirements of the fire service personnel that ride them.
Each engine has been fitted with two 25 litre canisters filled with water and foam and a high pressure 30m jet hose.
The high powered hose can put out a car fire in around 20 seconds and will work fully for 2-3 minutes.
The specially trained riders are equipped with custom made jackets and trousers, that are both fire resistant and offer protection for on the road use.
However, the firemen still require a separate fire and crash helmet to be used.
A spokesman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: “About 60 per cent of what we do is putting out “rubbish fires”. These are fires that don’t pose a threat to people or buildings. If approved this trial would enable us to buy more bikes and have them in stations where they have the highest incidences of these kind of fires. It is an expensive bike but then a fire appliance costs £250,000. It also means roads aren’t blocked with 17 tonne fire engines which will be carrying life-saving equipment that could be used elsewhere.”
Fire bikes are already popular in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Turkey. And if the six month trial in Merseyside is successful, we could see a nationwide roll-out of fire bikes throughout the United Kingdom.
A new motoring survey has revealed that car drivers find driving on Britain’s roads to be far more stressful and less enjoyable than motorcyclists.