Fire Engines Photos

These short wheelbase ladders with a rear steering third axle are quite amazingly maneuverable. I once saw one of the older series -which had been bought used by a Polish volunteer fire brigade - and its ability to literally run rings around standard pumpers was quite a sight! Poland’s national fire service only has around 530 full time fire stations, concentrated over in larger towns and cities, with about 5,000 firefighters on watch at any one time. It should be noted that, just as in the UK, the Polish fire service does not provide EMS ambulance coverage.

But in addition, there are more than 5, 000 volunteer fire companies with over 120, 000 members.

Just as in most European, North and South American - and many other - countries, including Australia and New Zealand , these volunteers provide primary fire response outside the large towns and cities, as well as reinforcing the full time staff there when needed.

In Poland, many outfits in these smaller communities understandably respond to a low number of calls and have limited budgets, so buying used trucks is a necessity. Although most are bought from Germany, there are quite a lot of older rigs from a wide variety of other places in service there. One feature of their fleets is the large number of 10, 000 liter and even larger tankers, as hydrants are hard to come by once you leave the urban centers.

Added by Rob Johnson on 20 March 2025.

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