COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Coventry Community Fire Station is trying out a new smaller alternative to the fire engine.



The Brigade Response Vehicle (BRV) is a special Range Rover Sport that’s been kitted out with a fire hose and a siren.

It carries three fire fighters and is going to be used for things like tackling smaller fires or rescuing pets.

It’s replacing a much larger fire engine.

Although the BRV can’t handle anything like house fires Coventry will still have two full sized trucks, as well as access to help from other nearby stations in the West Midlands.

“The services will be improved by ensuring that those larger resources are avaliable for the people of Coventry when they are needed the most.” Coventry Station Commander Simon Barry explains that the idea is this new 4×4 will free up the larger engines for where they’re needed most.

“It makes sure we have a flexible and agile fleet, where we send the most appropriate resource to the most appropriate incident.”

This is still a trial phase for the BRV. It’s part of an ongoing plan from West Midlands fire service to save money without cutting down response times or capability.