Significant investment expands and upgrades Greater Manchester’s fire fleet and stations
- Additional fire engines, extra crew members and station upgrades among significant investment in 2024 to meet rising demand for fire and rescue services
- First of the new engines unveiled by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russel, at Manchester Central Community Fire Station
- £3.5m investment also sees 15 fire engines in the city region replaced by state-of-the-art, greener vehicles
- Investment will increase capacity for community outreach and improve response times even further
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s (GMFRS) fleet of fire engines has officially grown in size as an additional pump has gone on the run at Manchester Central Community Fire Station.
The fire engine was unveiled today (Friday, December 13th) at an event attended by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, Kate Green, and GMFRS Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russel.
The additional engine is GMFRS’s 51st, marking the first addition to its fleet in more than 18 years.
It is the first of two fire engines that are being added to the fleet following last year’s Fire Cover Review, which examined how GMFRS can respond to a constantly growing and changing city-region, keeping public safety at the forefront of everything it does. The next engine will be added to Moss Side Community Station next year.
Manchester city centre has been transformed in recent decades and now has more than 600 high-rise buildings – more than anywhere else outside of London. This had led to a rapid increase in demand for fire cover, which this additional engine at Manchester Central, plus an additional engine at Moss Side Community Fire Station, will address. These new engines will also increase resilience across the city region, being available to respond to emergencies outside of the city centre if required.
The new fire engines will also have additional crew members to increase the capacity for prevention and protection-focused outreach in some of the highest-risk areas. Greater Manchester already has some of the fastest response times in the country and the increased capacity will help to improve those even further.
This is part of a much wider investment into the service, including £3.5m put into replacing 15 fire engines with brand new greener and state-of-the-art models.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
“The skyline of Greater Manchester has changed rapidly over the last few decades, and the number of people living here has grown alongside it.
“Keeping our residents safe is an absolute priority, and investing in our fire service will go a long way to ensuring that.
“I was immensely proud earlier this year when GMFRS was named as one of the best performing fire and rescue services in the country by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. This further bolstering of the fire service shows our commitment to improving its performance even further and it’s great to see this additional engine go to work.”
As well as investment in additional fire engines, £340,000 was invested in Prevention and Protection activities – targeting more resources to keeping people safe from emergencies before they happen – following 2023’s Fire Cover Review.
Chief Fire Officer, Dave Russel, said:
“Since my appointment as Chief Fire Officer in 2020, we have implemented numerous improvements across various aspects of the service. The Fire Cover Review was a crucial initiative aimed at enhancing the strength and resilience of our service for the public of Greater Manchester.
“The addition of a fire engine to the fleet in the vital and challenging area of Manchester City Centre, as a result of this investment, is exceptionally positive. This will enable our crews to provide the highest level of service to communities throughout Greater Manchester. Our rapidly growing city presents unique challenges for our service and firefighters; these additional fire engines and investment leave us much better placed to meet these demands.”
Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, Kate Green, said:
“Residents in Greater Manchester deserve the highest level of service, and this investment will help to ensure that is delivered. The additional engines are part of wider programme of enhancements to fire cover and special appliances across Greater Manchester, alongside other investments including improved firefighter fitness facilities, new state-of the-art fire engines delivered last year, fire station upgrades, plus brand new fire stations that are being built.”
Article Published: 13/12/2024 16:00 PM