Fire Engines Photos

Fire Engine Photos

 No: 4354   Contributor: Konrad Nowak   Year: 2006   Manufacturer: Star   Country: Poland

311[W]80 SW 5000 Star 266 JRG-11, Warsaw

SW 5000 ; stands for a hose laying unit carrying 5000 meters of hose. In this instance, the 5km of W-110 (110mm) hose are carried by a veteran medium 6x6 truck, a Star 266. The vehicle was manufactured in 1979 and is probably going to remain in service for a few years to come. There is no immediate need to replace the appliance, as it is used very rarely and it is in a good technical condition.

The vehicle usually tows one of the station's Rosenbauer 40/8 trailer pumps (4000 lpm @ 8 bar), used to pump water from lakes/rivers/artificial tanks and into W-110 supply lines. It is manned by two firefighters one of them drives the appliance while the other one stands at the back, controlling the hose laying process. Unfortunately, all the cleanup has to be done manually, therefore, dozens of Main Fire Service College (SGSP) cadets often assist such operations ;)

There are 2 vehicles of this kind in Warsaw, one pictured above, the other at JRG-7.

The SW 5000 on 6x6 chassis was designed primarily as a support vehicle at forest and brush fires in rough terrain. The Star 266 (developed in the 1970s) in itself is considered one of the best all-terrain trucks in the world and is one of very few medium 6x6 vehicles ever to be developed. It was built mainly for the military, but several 266s took part in the Paris-Dakar Rally. The political climate of the communist times prevented international advertising of 266 and investment into the project. Sadly, its modern successor, the Star 1466, is no longer produced, as the new company owner MAN AG deemed further production unprofitable.

Fire and Rescue Unit 11 (JRG-11) in Bielany is the most northward fire station in left-bank Warsaw. The squalid station complex was taken over by the State Fire Service from the Warsaw Steelworks (Huta Warszawa) the old HW emblem is still there at the main gate. The buildings used to house the plants own firefighting unit back in the communist times. Now they are home to the elite Warsaw Urban Search and Rescue Group,

The station vehicles are:

311-21: GBA 2,5/20 StarMan/Stolarczyk, a medium pumper;
311-25: GCBA 5/24 Jelcz 422/JZS 010R, a heavy tanker/pumper (to be replaced by the end of November 2007);
311-35: GCPr-3000 Jelcz 315M/Total, a veteran heavy dry powder appliance (1976);
311-71: SRp Mercedes Atego/Szczęśniak, the primary vehicle of the Urban Search and Rescue Group;
311-72: SLRp VW T4, the auxillary vehicle of the Group (soon to be replaced);
311-90: SLOp Ford Focus, the unit commander’s car;
311-91: SLRr VW T4, a general purpose transport van (soon to be replaced);

The Urban Search and Rescue Group is also going to receive 2 quads towards the end of 2007.

The picture was taken in the backyard of station 11 on 17.08.2007, during an official rally of www.ratownictwo.org.pl (Ratownictwo.Galeria) users. This particular vehicle is also the subject of an inside joke among the RG crew. ;)