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GMFRS new USAR unit.
Fire Engine Photos
No: 18222   Contributor: Nigel Everett   Year: 2009   Manufacturer: Volvo   Country: United Kingdom
GMFRS new USAR unit.

Seen at the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Museum (Rochdale) open day on Sunday the 5th of July 2009. This is the new JDC bodied USAR unit which is stationed at Whitehill (Stockport). It has no firefighting capability and carries a crew of 6. It is the first GMFRS vehicle to feature the Volvo crew cab as opposed to a fully coachbuilt cab. i t cam 'on the run' in the last week of June 2009.
Picture added on 10 July 2009 at 15:38
add commentComments:
Glad to see some new appliances arriving in Manchester, some of the recent deliveries were long overdue.

Any idea if anything is going to be done about the HPV fleet? From what I've heard, the Manchester Central Volvo/Simon Snorkel is to be pulled out of service and not replaced at all.

Added by Konrad Nowak on 12 July 2009.
For the information of those who wish to know, the VRM of this appliance is PO58 LFR. All my future submissions will now feature full VRM's. Konrad. GMFRS purchased 8 TVAC bodied Volvos on 57 plates and 16 JDC bodies Volvo pumps on 08 plates. This was the 17th vhicle in the JDC batch. Nige.

Added by NigeE999 on 12 July 2009.
I take it this is a Greater Manchester-owned vehicle and nothing to do with the New Dimensions programme. But why do GMFRS feel they need this vehicle when the New Dimensions programme exists?

Added by Yelp Bullhorn on 19 February 2010.
This seams to be the in thing with some brigades, Lets not forget the New Dimention only has a crew of two these carry a full crew. Merseyside are about to put one on the run, this will have some firefighting equipment as well and be the second pump at croxteth crewed by the SRT team.

Added by Dave Price on 20 February 2010.
GMFRS do not have any New Dimension USAR equipment, cover being provided by nearby brigades so it makes sense to have a USAR vehicle to respond to incidents until New Dimension vehicles arrive on scene.

Added by Michael Penny on 20 February 2010.
I believe that GMFRS USAR cover under New Dimensions is provided by Lancashire FRS as Michael says.

Added by Nigel Everett on 21 February 2010.
Yes, Nigel is right; the New Dimensions USAR programme is a nation-wide concern. Just because GMF&RS don't house any of the equipment does not mean they are exempt from its reaches.

While Urban Search & Rescue is indeed a vital resource, it does not deploy in an instant like a standard fire engine responds to smoke issuing. Look at recent events in Haiti. Whilst there is cause to criticize a lot of the response to such a tragedy, USAR teams arrived from all over the globe days after the event and still did some fantastic work rescuing people who would have otherwise faced a slow agonizing death.

Somehow I don't think it would take days for Lancashire's USAR team to arrive in Manchester were they needed, no matter how heavy the traffic on the M61 is!

So my thinking tends to lean towards this brand-new USAR unit of GMF&RS being perhaps a first response unit that will be used for a wider variety of incidents than the 'Search & Rescue' tag suggests.

Added by Yelp Bullhorn on 23 February 2010.
Does this respond only as a USAR unit or a Rescue Tender/SEU as well?

Added by David Jones on 28 September 2010.
David, This vehicle has no BA and no fire fighting capability. The equipment when we looked at it was all USAR based, sophisticated listening/thermal imaging, props, spreaders scaffolding etc. GMFRS have Volvo Saxon, Enhanced Rescue Units and Operational Support Units so I guess they would be the Rescue Tender/SEU vehicles. Unless of course someone out there knows better!!!

Added by Nige & Luke Everett on 29 September 2010.
This vehicle is manned by the GMF&RS USAR team and is only used for USAR deemed incidents, it is stationed at Whitehill St West Fire Station in Stockport

Added by Soren Heeks on 29 September 2010.
Oh ok. Seems a bit of a waste of money with New Dimensions easily available.

Added by David Jones on 29 September 2010.
From what ive been told the new volvo cabs are very cramped compaired to the old coach bodied cabs of say the previous volvos, leylands and even dodges!

Added by Danny Jones on 06 December 2012.
Well, but isn't this inherent to most, if not all cabs, which were made by the chassis manufacturer, rather than a specialist body/coachbuilder?

Added by Konrad Nowak on 06 December 2012.
My Name Is Ethan Powell & Used To Work For Greater Manchester Police As A Chief Inspector & Used To See A Lot Of These Beasts On Our Roads & I Left Greater Manchester In 2017 & This Year I've Taken A Very Serious Role In At Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service As A Fire Commander & I Love My New Job It Is Excellent.

Added by ETHAN on 04 November 2018.
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