Author: UK Emergency Vehicles

Ambulance > Air Ambulance

London’s Air Ambulance Skoda Octavia VRS providing a ground

London’s Air Ambulance Skoda Octavia VRS providing a ground-based alternative to the helicopter in London. The cars are used when the helicopter is out of action or when weather prevents it flying. They are only used for the most serious medical emergencies.

The images show the sponsors and cameras mounted into the lights bars. The registrations and call signs are:
EK14 NXO [H01]
EF63 MLU [H02]
EK14 NXR [H03]
EK14 NXP [H04]

Police

Wiltshire Police Volvo XC70 D5 AWD Police Community Volunteer

Wiltshire Police Volvo XC70 D5 AWD Police Community Volunteer car. This 215 horsepower manual car is used by the Rural Crime Volunteer Unit to patrol rural areas. It was loaned by Volvo to the team for 18 months from June 2015. It also is being used for the Community Speed Watch scheme.

Others > Search and Rescue

SG15 AED Surrey SAR VW Amarok Lowland Rescue vehicle. This

SG15 AED Surrey SAR VW Amarok Lowland Rescue vehicle. This 2015 4×4 replaces their old Land Rover Defender. The car is suited to travelling across the county on normal roads but also has good off road capability where required. A fold-down screen in the Truckman rear allows briefing to be given or other information to be displayed – such as the view from a drone (shown). The total cost for the vehicle was £32,500 and was met by the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

Fire

NK15 OEJ Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Mercedes Benz

NK15 OEJ Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Mercedes Benz Sprinter Targeted Response Vehicle. This unit responds to low risk fires such as rubbish on fire away from any buildings. Two such vehicle were introduced in May 2015 with two more to follow and a further one for training only. The first two were assigned to Washington and Newcastle but cover the whole county. They operate from 6pm to midnight and are crewed by just two firefighters. A Rosenbauer UHPS XL Pump and the 600 litre water tank are housed in the rear along with BA kit and other firefighting equipment

Others > Miscellaneous

Home Office Immigration Enforcement VW Transporters and

Home Office Immigration Enforcement VW Transporters and Mercedes Sprinters. The Immigration Enforcement vehicles are marked up in light blue and dark blue battenburgs and carry prominent Home Office branding. They do not have any audible or visual emergency warning devices fitted.

The most common use for the vehicles is to take enforcement officers to pre-planned operations where they raid premises suspected of harbouring people who should not be in the country. This could be a restaurant or factory for example.

The registrations of the vehicles are: BX14 FYR, BX14 FYS, BX64 BCK, BX64 BHJ, BX64 BOH, MX13 ANU, MX13 AOU, MX13 AOU, MX13 APY, MX13 ATF, MX62 AKN

Police

A Police BMW i8 promotional vehicle

A Police BMW i8 promotional vehicle, complete with gullwing doors.

The petrol/electric hybrid car has mouthwatering performance. The power output is 231 bhp plus 96 Kw giving a total of 357 bhp, and a massive 570 Nm of torque. A 0-60 mph acceleration time of 4.4 seconds is the result. The automatic gearbox keeps the car accelerating up to its 155 mph limit. The fuel efficiency is distorted by the hybrid system, but the official figures are 135 miles per gallon and 49 g/km of CO2.

Police > Harbour & Port Police

DK11 AOH Port of Liverpool Police Toyota Hilux. This is

DK11 AOH Port of Liverpool Police Toyota Hilux. This is one of a pair of such vehicles, the other being a 12-plate.

Notice that the crest on the door includes the word Manchester. This reflects the fact that the POLP also patrol the Manchester Ship Canal than connects Manchester and Liverpool. Until 1993 this was patrolled by the Manchester Ship Canal Police.

Fire > Classic

Ampleforth Abbey Fire Squad

Ampleforth Abbey Fire Squad helmet.

The North Yorkshire abbey  and college had a fire squad for about sixty years, run by volunteer monks. It was formed in the Second World War and its first vehicle was an old estate towing a trailer pump. The squad continued until about 2000 when it was dissolved, mainly on the ground that it was the abbey’s biggest risk because of its amateur nature. It had largely ceased to be necessary because of the enormous increase in smoke detectors, and the efficiency of the local fire service. By 2000, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service could attend the rural location of the abbey within about 20 minutes, whereas the abbey’s fire squad took about 10 minutes.

They never had more than one vehicle at a time, but there was a succession of cast-offs from North Yorkshire FRS, usually through Malton. The last (and best) was a Green Goddess Bedford RLHZ, purchased direct from a job lot of 750 at Rillington airfield, South of Doncaster. They chose the demonstration model as they knew it worked!

The monks of the fire squad attended a number of fires over the years, but only two (1954 and 1962) showed any tendency to get out of hand, but failed to achieve this. From around 1952, they acquired a siren to use as a call and for general information (but not as a local alarm). In later years they had some problems with Civil Defence, since by about 1970 any air-raid type siren meant that an air attack was imminent. Most local people did not seem worried about this, and the Civil Defence and military sites were out of earshot. It was also used for a time to clear the buildings on the occasion of a bomb-warning. All were hoaxes, and nearly all were from the same man. Some contractors sacked him from working on the site and when he saw college concerts advertised he reached for his telephone (or so it appeared). They of course laid a trap, and he fell into it!

Another Ampleforth Abbey Fire Squad helmet in yellow.

The fire squad acquired a job lot from New York’s fire brigade when they were replacing theirs. The helmets were made of plastic and offer little protection compared to modern equivalents. A small fire squad sticker was attached. The monks looked after their equipment and so this helmet was damaged at some point after it finished service with them.

Police > Cathedral Constables

Liverpool Cathedral Constables

Liverpool Cathedral employs 10 constables, managed by a head constable. The first photograph shows their uniform of white shirt with black tie and black trousers. They do not carry handcuffs or a baton. They are based in a purpose built office at the entrance to the cathedral grounds. Despite having historic connections stretching back many hundreds of years, this specialist constabulary was formed in August 2005. Previous to this date they were security officers.

The constables make use of an extensive CCTV system as well as patrolling the building and grounds, including a neighbouring college. They work 24/7 and despite not having police powers are trained to deal with some dangerous situations. They use the power of citizen’s arrest on rare occasions. Any major situations are dealt with by the local Merseyside Police.