THIS MORNING (Jan 24) Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service equipped its fire station on Caldey Island with a Rural Response Pump.
The RRP will join the islands existing fleet of vehicles and has been designed to give crews an alternative choice of vehicle where conditions require 4×4 facilities due to difficult or restricted access.
The transportation of the RRP was made possible thanks to the RAF, who airlifted the new appliance from the mainland to Caldey Island by Chinook Helicopter as part of a test flight.
The test flight had been organised by a specialist team from the Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit RAF Brize Norton and had taken four months to plan.
Wing Commander Phil Greville, the RAF Regional Liaison Officer in Wales, said: “Airlifting this type of vehicle underneath a Chinook has not been done before and we were very pleased that the flight trial went according to plan. Once we knew the vehicle was stable in flight and did not present any hazards, the helicopter crew were able to fly over to Caldey Island.
“This has been a win, win situation. The Fire Service needed to get a new fire appliance out to the island and we wanted to get this type of fire-vehicle approved for airlift by Chinook.
“We now have a safe method of doing that. The Rural Response Pump vehicle is in widespread use throughout the UK and, in the future, we will be able to fly it to where it is needed when responding to major floods and other emergency situations.”
Rob Quin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We have been working very closely with the RAF over the last few months and it really has been a team effort. We are grateful to the RAF and would like to offer a sincere thank you for all their assistance. It has been very rewarding to be involved in the airlift trial and we now have a new fire appliance on Caldey Island.
“As a Fire and Rescue Service, we are confronted with a wide range of challenges that make the service area of Mid and West Wales unique. Geographically, we cover the largest service area of England and Wales, which contains Swansea, the second largest city in Wales, and many populous towns.
“We also serve many rural communities. Therefore, ensuring we have the best response vehicles and equipment, tailored to each area’s needs, is important.”
