Two specialist all terrain HM Coastguard assets which had been recently converted for Personnel & Equipment Transport and Search & Rescue by Vehicle Engineering were made ready for immediate despatch last week. The request from HM Coastguard management came following an urgent requirement for off road capable vehicles to support firefighters from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service in containing the major moorland fires on Winter Hill near Manchester. As part of the firefighting efforts HM Coastguard Rescue Service personnel were on scene for a total of seven full days, including a duty Coastguard Incident Commander and for the most part, two specialist all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).
Martin Leslie, Deputy Head of Coastal Resources, thanked Babcock for their timely action in making the vehicles ready, and explained the importance of their role; “The ATVs were a positive asset to proactively fight the fire in sectors that were worst effected and unable to be reached by fire engine and timely on foot. The ATVs were specially equipped with a 150 litre water tank and a pressure washer to proactively mist any effected ground, often on fire.”
Babcock Vehicle Engineering has been proudly supplying vehicle conversions to HM Coastguard for more than twenty years, as well as providing through-life support, mid-life refurbishment and end-of-life decommissioning.
Thank you to HM Coastguard for their kind permission to reproduce this image.
