Fire Engines Photos

TVAC bodied - see here



Added by Petros on 31 July 2026.

Full height rear bodywork very similar to most European designs.

Added by Rob Johnson on 31 July 2026.

Takes an age to slip a 135 ladder

Added by Neal Glover on 01 August 2026.

After decades of mounting ladders and suctions on powered roof racks in the Netherlands, many European countries have adopted this approach. The mechanisms are either electrical, compressed air or hydraulic. They always have a redundant system, and some have a combination activation to achieve this 100% functionality. Needless to say, they are very quick to deploy and also quite fast to reload. A few brigades also use these powered roof racks to store 110 mm LDH, similar to the North American practice, so the pumper can act as its own hose layer when connecting to a high output hydrant or when participating in a relay.

Added by Rob Johnson on 05 August 2026.

I should probably add that long three section extension ladders used in most countries are much lighter than the 13.5 metre ladder currently being used in the UK. For example the 15 metre ladder extensively used in France weighs 75 KG, which is a third less than the Lacon 13.5 metre one. This means it is a lot easier to slip, to deploy and reload, even without the power rack. It is also the case that in most countries urban fire services operate proportionately far more aerial ladders, towers and platforms than is common in the UK. This reduces dependency on having to use long ground ladders. For example, London has around sixteen front line aerials for a population of a little over eight million, while Berlin has more than thirty for less than half the number of people. Here in Chicago, we have fifty for 2.5 million citizens. FDNY has 143, nine times as many as London, covering a population almost exactly the same.

Added by Rob Johnson on 06 August 2026.

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