New misting vehicle to tackle hard-to-reach fires

A new off-road firefighting vehicle has been added to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue’s fleet.

A UTV Polaris misting unit has been bought by the county’s brigade to increase the ability to fight fires in hard-to-reach areas such as rural locations or deep in woodlands.

The purchase follows the extreme pressures the hot summer of 2022 and the resulting wildfires put on the fire service.

County crews were called to more than 700 grass fires between April and August - including 243 incidents over three days during July's 39.8C heatwave.

The new unit will be based in Tuxford.

On call crews in the town have now been trained to use the unit for large scale outdoor and remote fires and the unit is ready to respond.

Fire service group manager for response Tom Staples said: “In Summer 2022 we saw an increase in outdoor fires and this year we wanted to be more ready than ever and to be prepared for all eventualities.

“We have recently introduced firefighters at Tuxford Fire Station to the new misting unit, where they've carried out training with the vehicle, to ensure they know exactly how to use it at incidents.

“We are excited to see the vehicle out at incidents and being used by crews – it will help us deal with incidents more effectively.”

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