D177 KPT This Carmichael engine is owned by ‘Party On Fire Limo’. It has been resprayed to its original fire engine red colour, and the hoses still work. The ‘fire & rescue’ wording and blue lights are still in place too.
J857 NJO Red Thunder run this Scania 93M 250 fire engine. It is an ex-Buckinghamshire Water Tender Ladder Rescue Pump, and is still in its Bucks. livery with blue lights.
J86 ORU This is Hot-Hire’s Volvo FL6, an ex-Dorset fire engine. Notice the wording on the side has been changed to ‘Fire and Rescue Limousine’ and the blue lights have been blacked out.
The water pumps tank have been removed and replaced with a larger interior, containing more seats, mirrored walls, fibre-optic lighting, and entertainment system.
H869 XYF Casey Cars run this ex-LFB engine called ‘All Fired Up’. The London-wording has been removed, but the ‘fire’ wording and blue lights have been left in place.
Inside: It has a 32″ wide screen TV, laser, fibre-optic and strobe lights as well as a smoke machine! For comfort it has custom-made limo seating and even a real fire!
E884 ANO This is an ex-Essex Fire Service Dennis appliance. Owned by Red Hot Rescue, a couple of the crew can be seen hanging on to the front.
C937 BKJ This is Talk of the Town Entertainments’ Dennis SS133 fire engine limousine. It has seating for eight passengers, with a sound system, mirrored ceiling and lots of LED and neon lighting!
H878 XYF is an ex-London Fire Brigade appliance. It is now available for hire from the Fire4Hire in Essex. Inside are a CD surround sound system, DVD with LCD monitor, mood lighting and seven passenger seats.
F766 BYD is now part of ‘The Fun Brigade’, who are based in Guildford and covers the Surrey and Hampshire area. The Fun Brigade has turned this engine into a limousine for all special occasions.
Inside the Fun Brigade Engine. Notice the bespoke glass ceiling.
D803 FYM This Renault Dodge limo is owned by Hot Stuff Limousines, based in Plymouth, Devon. It is an ex-London appliance, and has been owned by London’s Burning for television work.
The side view of this nine-litre V8 appliance. It is still in working order, with the hoses being used at children’s parties. It is also kitted out with usual limousine luxuries, including a TV, DVD player, stereo, disco and rope lights and privacy glass.
G656 XWK This Dennis was originally in Warwickshire and is now owned by Red Hot Ride. It is fitted with red flashing lights on the roof and front.
E368 RRH This ‘Big Red Hire Engine’ is a Dennis fire engine previously owned by Humberside. It has had over £8000 spent on the transformation and boasts a DVD, PS2, 15″ lcd monitor and 1000 watt sound system. It can seat 6 passengers comfortably and is available for hire in East Anglia.
G167 UPO This Volvo engine is a former Hampshire appliance and is available for hire from a company called Chariots of Fire, Bristol.
This photo shows the inside of the Chariots of Fire limo. This luxury interior took three months to complete and quite a few thousand pounds! It is a far cry from the original front-line appliance specification.
F355 RBJ This Volvo FL6 fire appliance is owned and hired out by Red Alert Party Limo. It is used in the Oxford area and can carry up to seven passengers. It was previously run by Red Alert Party Limo in Stirling.
F951 PWK This engine is The Blazing Squad’s ‘Winchester 2’. It is used in Doncaster and the South Yorkshire area for nights out, children’s parties, weddings, promotions and fayres.
The rear view, showing the contents of the lockers. The engine is still fully working, and the hoses and equipments can be used by children at parties. It was bought from Liverpool in June 2003.
This ambulance used to be available for hire from The Blazing Squad. It was an ex-Nottinghamshire NHS Iveco that was converted into a ‘party ambulance’. It had on-board ‘party medics’ and was also equipped with a karaoke machine and DVD player. The vehicle had been kept as authentic as possible. It is now no longer available.
One reason for the popularity of the party ambulance was that it is used for ‘naughty nurses’ nights out’.
F187 FHS This ‘party’ fire engine belongs to the Crazy Fire Company who are based in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Notice how all of the blue lights have been replaced with amber for legal reasons.
A885 EDL used to be in active service on the Isle of Wight before joining the Crazy Fire Company. Notice how the county name plate above the lockers has been switched for the company’s telephone number.
K208 VVU Here are some of the Crazy Fire Company’s customers in their Leyland DAF engine. It used to belong to Greater Manchester.
L705 MJN The Crazy Fire Company also operates an American ambulance limousine, seen here.
G691 KAW This Dennis SS237 is ‘in service’ with Fireman’s Lift (Lincoln) as a limo. Until 2004 it was a reserve and training appliance with Shropshire Fire and Rescue. It then went straight into its ‘new’ public service role.
The rear view of the same appliance.
H890 XYF is a Volvo FL6-14 which came out of service with the London Fire Brigade in November 2004 and has since been used by Fireman’s Lift (Lincoln) and Party Hire Brigade (Dorset).
H220 UCX This Volvo ex-fire engine is owned by Firemans Lifts York. The owner is a firefighter in Bridlington, North Yorkshire and drives this vehicle in his spare time as a limousine. Notice how the blue rotating beacons on the roof have been covered in yellow, but the two repeater lights on the front have been left blue.
The rear view of the same appliance, showing an advertising board and further blue lights facing rearwards. Also notice that the yellow stripe up the side contains the company’s website address in place of the name of the fire service.
Inside, looking to the back of the vehicle from the passenger seat. It is unusually spacious inside because the cab has been extended back into where the water tank was. The front-most side lockers have been welded closed and new interior walls added.
NYV 719Y is a ‘Blazing Squad’ Dennis fire engine limousine. All of its blue lights have been covered up or replaced by amber or white lenses. It still carries its ‘London Fire Brigade’ plaque on the side from it’s previous role.
C922 CKJ This is another example of a ‘Blazing Squad’ ex-service fire engine. Notice that the ‘Fire & Rescue’ signage on the side of the appliance has been cleverly changed to ‘Hire & Rescue’. The vehicle has sinced changed owners and is now with Blue Watch Limos in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
MKE 916W This is a third example of a limousine owned by the Blazing Squad.
Q809 HNR is a quirky home-made miniature fire engine. Road-legal, it was built and is run by Leistershire F&R as a fund raising vehicle. At events it takes children on journeys from its (inflatable) fire station!
The rear view, showing the passengers. It has fully functioning blue flashing lights, but in place of a siren it has a very loud speaker system which plays cheesy pop records to warn people of its presence!
Above we have a kid-size fire engine made from a milk float! Called ‘Little Dennis’, it takes a small number of children on a ride (off the roads) and returns to it’s inflatable ‘fire station’. The vehicle has working blue lights and siren, as well as a miniature water jet to surprise passers-by! It carries the fake registration ‘999 FIRE’. Little Dennis raises funds for the Fire Service Benevolent Fund and is based in Cleveland Brigade, run by Hartlepool Green Watch.
HX06 OFL This green Land Rover Defender is used by the Forestry Commission as a fire and rescue vehicle by rural safety officers. It is used in the Hampshire area and is run in conjunction with the local fire service. It is fitted with a double blue light bar on the roof and you can also see smaller blue flashing lights on the front of the vehicle.
A second view of the Defender, seen here towing a Hampshire FRS trailer. This vehicle is often used by Jim Green who is an animal rescue specialist.
W776 WPX This Land Rover Defender is used by the Forestry Commission for fire fighting duties. It is fitted with a single rotating blue beacon and FC livery.