Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda (Lab Gloucester) announced the distribution of additional heavy duty lorries (known as prime movers) to England's Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) for the transportation of specialist equipment to deal with major incidents.
This specialist equipment is part of the Government's investment of over £200million in New Dimension programme which includes mass decontamination and urban search and rescue (USAR) kit, and the high volume pumping (HVP) capability used extensively in all our major flooding emergencies.
The Department proposes that the vehicles will be located with FRSs that host USAR units and/or HVP units which include Avon, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, and Dorset.
Additional facts
1. The additional prime movers have a value of over £7million.
2. 151 Prime Movers have already been distributed to England's FRSs to meet their transportation needs.
3. The Government has invested over £200million in improving resilience through the New Dimension programme.
4. There are also 19 USAR Teams and a strategic reserve located throughout England ensuring that each region has USAR capability. USAR kit has been used in various incidents - during 2007 including most recently in response to the warehouse fire in Atherton-on-Stour, Warwickshire as well as the building collapse in Westminster, London, and the earthquake in Folkestone, Kent.
