Fire Engines Photos

Knowing the city quite well, I am surprised they bought a PHP instead of continuing to use a wheeled escape. I thought the combination of 35 foot extension ladders, a 45 footer, a 50 foot wheeled escape and a 100 foot turntable offered every possible way of accessing the old college and university buildings - short of using hook ladders, which may have been even better!

I would have thought that the PHP was just too limiting in terms of where it could go and what it was able to reach to.

It does seem that most cities (including Cambridge) which bought PHPs did not replace them when it came to the end of their service life.

Added by Rob Johnson on 22 August 2014.

Now, it seems this should be updated, as after a lot of research I have not come across ANY brigade which bought a replacement PHP. In addition, many got rid of them after as few as three or four years, because they were so rarely any use. Quite s few found their way to Ireland, presumably because they were sold off at bargain prices.

The rare 65 and 85 foot Snorkels which had a pump lasted much better, but these were of course not designed to fill the dual role of platform and pump water tender, and had much more useful booms.

Added by Rob Johnson on 18 June 2018.

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